I assure you – if Labour is re-elected – we’ll undo this crazy scheme
9 thoughts on “I assure you – if Labour is re-elected – we’ll undo this crazy scheme”
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Representatives from the three local community groups recently paid a visit to Keith Wakefield the leader of the Labour group to express their concern about the council’s clear determination to press ahead with its scheme to create designated barbeque areas on Woodhouse Moor in the face of overwhelming evidence that the consultation exercise was flawed. They showed him the same photographs of devastation that they have shown so many times to their own councillors, and explained to him how ordinary people now avoid the park whenever the weather is fine. They told him about the flawed consultation exercise and how the council rejects the testimony of residents who say they never received a survey form, preferring to believe the delivery company which claims to have delivered forms to every household but one of the 9,982 households that were supposed to receive them. They told him about the statistical evidence and the map that strongly indicate that residents are telling the truth when they say they never received forms. Councillor Wakefield said that he accepts that people are telling the truth and said the community has his full support in its fight to stop the barbeque scheme going ahead and that he’ll do all he can to help. And he gave this promise, “I assure you – if Labour is re-elected – we’ll undo this crazy scheme”.
HYDE PARK AND WOODHOUSE ONLINE
what's happening in our area
This is the same Labour Party that closed royal park school, refused to put gates around Woodhouse Moor, granted so many takeaway licenses in Hyde Park and Headingley without objecting, allowed the public toilets on the Moor to be turned into a restaurant, allowed the unchecked expansion of student accomodation in the area and allowed the centre of Headingley to be over run with licensed premises?
Chris, what really matters for local people is what our councillors are doing now, not what they did seven or eight years ago.
Chris,
The previous Labour Council did indeed close Royal Park Primary School. They also took the building out of the asset disposal programme and stated that it should be redeveloped for community use. This unique protection – no other school site in Leeds has been offered this once declared redundant – was in deference to the areas deprivation and many of the issues that you list. However the 5 years since the school closed coincide almost exactly with the 5 years that the Lib Dem/Conservative coalition has run the Council. The building is of course not redeveloped for community use, isn’t going to be redeveloped for community use and is a derelict eye sore.
Its too tortious a story to tell here but let me put forward one fact to you. In September 2004 local councillors received a quote from officers of £250k capital to redevelop the entire building into a servicable “shell” that community groups could sub let at sub market prices.
£250k is chicken feed to Leeds City Council in any area. In terms of Leeds 6 deprivation indices and the scale of regeneration funding that has gone into this ward it’s the loose change down the back of the sofa.
If you are genuinely interested in the story of how that funding request was refused and how the last 5 years have been spent on a serious of deeply flawed schemes which have all subsequently collapsed then I’ll happily talk to you about it.
However if you think any political party in the area comes out of that story well then frankly you are deluding your self.
Bill – I think people will be able to make up their own minds about what they care about. And it does matter what happened 7 or 8 years ago when the Labour candidate was a councillor 7 or 8 years ago.
David – I confess that I have no where near the amount of background knowledge on the various bids to save Royal Park school as you do. I think you probably already have my phone number and I would really like to talk to you about the history of the school. It’s one of the biggest let downs that local people have suffered from the council (whoever has been in charge).
David –
Royal Park’s supposed protection was not unique whatever the multiple deprivation indices of LS6 – Harehills Middle School
was retained for community use once declared surplus and has since become the successful Shine centre (something the LibDems are proud to support), and that is in an area much, much worse off than Headingley/Hyde Park
Ralph,
I had forgetten about SHINE so the protection to Royal Park was highly unusual rather than “unique.”
Chris, you’re right – it does matter very much what happened 7 or 8 years ago, and not just for the reason you give. But what’s happening now is very much worse. We’re seeing one section of the community given preferential treatment at the expense of another.
Chris, you say, the Labour council allowed the public toilets on the Moor to be turned into a restaurant.
I’ve just walked past the toilets tonight and, unless they really shouldn’t have been granted a food hygiene certificate, they’re still toilets.
Perhaps you mean Akmal’s restaurant? This wasn’t toilets. It was built as a war veterans clubhouse. When I first came to Leeds 15 years ago it was the Dubterranean cafe, specialising in all-night but unlicensed refreshments. Hardly a change of use to blame on Labour.
totally with you on the closure of Royal Park School but, as David says, the real scandal is in what’s happened (or rather, not happened) since.
Add to that the present administration’s support for choking their voters with a waste incinerator and making us pay way over the odds for it by PFI and I see clear differences between them and Labour.
Stick Labour back in and odds are they’d be a bunch of corporate toadies too, mind. A pox on the lot of them. But, as always, more so on those doing it to us right now.
I took my grandchildren to Kirkstall Abbey at Easter as i have done with my own children and my parents and grandparents did with me and i was disgusted at the ammount of students there having bbqs. It isn’t just Woodhouse Moor its every park and i was mortified at Kirkstall Abbey. The Liberal Democrats said they don’t know how to enforce the bylaws but they manage to enforce the bylaws around the civic hall. These students are in need of asbos and yet they get away with murder. The people of Leeds are going to have to revolt with all the political parties because none of them care about our city. My 5 yr old grandson said it was like someone smoking in your face with at least 5 barbeques in a 20 yard walk. Someone or something has got to give and something be done, i for one will be right there at the front with my banner. Leeds City Council have turned Leeds into a laughing stock of a city with its ugly buildings and antisocial behaviour. I would also like to meet the people in the planning department bacause i have heard some tales about them. There is a man bragging about getting planning permission for more student flats and yet i haven’t received notice of this and its only 30 yards away from where i live. I did go to see Penny Ewans about this at her monthly surgery today (2 days before the election) and neither her nor her representative bothered to turn up. Guess who’s not getting my vote.