Cllr Barry Anderson

 I have been advised of the following consultation that has just been sent to me. You may be interested in taking part. The message I received from a Project Support Officer in the NHS was as follows:

“We are writing to tell you that, following changes that were made to the urgent care services in 2009, we would now like to hear from people about where they think the best locations are for urgent care in Leeds. 

Urgent Care is for when you have minor accidents or unexpected health problems and need help within the next few hours, but it is not an emergency or life threatening. Important progress has already been made in improving the health of the local population, but there is still work to be done. NHS Leeds want to make further improvements to urgent care services to build on improvements already made in 2009.

We are consulting with people for 14 weeks, from Monday 5 December 2011 until Sunday 4 March 2012, as we would like as many views as possible. 

This booklet is also available online at www.leeds.nhs.uk/consultations.

The responses we receive will help to shape the future of urgent health care services in Leeds, delivered from the right locations, which are convenient and accessible to the majority of people.   

 We are grateful for your cooperation.”

I have concerns about bin collections over the Christmas and New Year period after it emerged instructions posted on residents’ bins may have been washed away in bad weather.

I have been approached by residents on the Holtdale Estate after reports that important information on festive collection times was ruined in the rain, some dropped off bins and lay in footpaths and grass verges.

I feel that the waste collection service should have planned better for communicating the messages and I have asked the council to reissue the advice so that residents can be properly informed. However, if they do not get this done you can ascertain when your collection should be by clicking on the following link and keying in your house number, street and postcode in the relevant fields, please complete all fields.

http://www.leeds.gov.uk/Community_and_living/Recycling_rubbish_and_waste/Household_waste__rubbish_collections.aspx

This really represents a failure to communicate the changes properly in waste collection over the Christmas period.  Residents who contacted me say that updates on the collection service were in envelopes attached to people’s bins.

I have been advised that a formal planning application in respect of the above has now been submitted:

Application details:-

Number:       11/05065/OT

Site:             University Of Leeds Bodington Hall Otley Road Leeds LS16 5PT

Proposal:     Outline Application for residential development including means of access and demolition of existing buildings

To access the planning application system:

 1. click on the following link

 http://www.leeds.gov.uk/Environment_and_planning/Planning/Planning_applications__residential.aspx

 2. Scroll down and Click on the square with the arrow and PA in it.

3. Type 11/05065 in the box that says key word, reference number etc. and click search

That should then bring up the relevant page.

If you wish to comment on this, you may do so by:

 ·     writing to: Planning Services, The Leonardo Building, 2 Rossington Street, Leeds, LS2 8HD

·     sending an email to: planning@leeds.gov.uk

·     via the planning services website at www.leeds.gov.uk/publicaccess

Please quote the planning reference number, noted above, with your comments.

If you would like to make any comments I would find it very useful if you could forward a copy of your comments to me, so that I can gauge public opinion on this application, and to enable me to represent your views clearly and concisely.

I trust this keeps you up to date with matters that may affect you.

I have been advised of a new number for non emergencies for the Police, which is 101. However, 999 should still be used in emergencies. I have been given the following information about 101 by the Police, as follows:

When should I call 101 ?

To report less urgent incidents and for general police enquiries, for example:

-     Reporting a Crime

-     Reporting anti-social behaviour

-     Reporting information to the police

 2. How does it work?

You can call 101 to contact West Yorkshire Police. The service is available 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week. For more information visit www.police.uk/101

3. What does it cost to call 101?

All calls to 101 cost only 15 pence, even from mobiles and no matter what time of day or how long your call.

4. Can I call 101 if I’m deaf, hard of hearing, speech impaired, or if English is not my first language?

Yes, if you are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired you can textphone 18001 101.

If you have difficulty speaking English your local police can access interpreters who can translate your call.

They have reiterated that you must always call 999 in an emergency.

I recently met with school governors, parents and Highways officers to try and find a solution to increase road safety for children crossing Church Lane to go to Adel St. John’s C of E Primary School. Following that meeting I received responses from Highways:

1. From the Senior Highway Development Engineer, Transport Development Services

The meeting was useful, it highlighted the concerns that parents have when making the journey across Otley Road and in particular Church Lane to reach the 2 Primary Schools. As part of development proposals developers are required to submit Transport Assessments or Transport Statements (depending on the level of development) to determine the impact of their proposals on all modes of travel to and from their site. This includes an assessment of access to/from local schools. I will ensure that when we receive the anticipated planning application/s (David Wilson Homes) that the assessments are discussed and that if it is considered that there are any relevant highway safety improvement measures that can be justified as part of the proposals that we seek developer funding as part of any planning approval.”

2. From the Senior Engineer, Traffic Management West

Traffic have an outstanding crossing survey on Church Lane. I will also check available data and arrange for a new speed and volume survey if necessary. Depending on the outcome of the crossing survey I will look into providing additional signs on Church Lane warning of school children crossing.”

3. From the Road Safety Manager, who has agreed to carry out the following actions:

Liaise with the Chair of Governors to help the school recruit Junior Road Safety Officers. Also work with the school to deliver other initiatives such as a road safety assembly, use of SID with staff and pupils and the Mini Police activity to address dangerous or inconsiderate parking.

Liaise with the Chair of Governors to help support the school / parents set up a Walking Bus or Walk Once a Week scheme depending upon level of parent / carer interest.

I have had received a reasonable amount of correspondence about the mobile library at Cookridge. Parents, children and carers are keen to see the hours changed to ensure it coincides with the Kindergarten. I am currently campaigning on this issue and this is the latest response I have had from the Head of the Library Service:

“Many thanks for passing these on, please be assured that we have got them all logged and we will look at the routes in the New Year.  We will come back to you before any changes are made and will make sure we take all this feedback into account.”

One of the committees within the Outer North West Area Committee is the Environmental Committee, which I chair. A report was recently submitted by the senior officer responsible for this service to the Area Committee in respect of the delegation of responsibility for Street Cleansing in the North West of the city. If you would like to read a copy of this report click on the link below.

http://democracy.leeds.gov.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=62473

There is still a lot of work needing to be done as the level of resources being made available is not sufficient to meet the standards or needs of local residents.

I am pleased to welcome the news that the £27m from the Government for the Holt Park Wellbeing Centre has now been approved and work will commence in January. The new centre which will replace the current Holt Park Leisure Centre is a partnership between Adult Social Care and the Council’s Sports Services section. It is hoped that all of the work will be completed and residents can start to benefit from these new services by December 2013.

The new facilities will include a 25m swimming pool, a hydrotherapy pool, a café, a gym, a large meeting hall and a garden area plus a number of other facilities.

I really welcome this and I am pleased it is finally getting moving. I want to ensure everyone involved in a professional capacity continues to work with the local community and I look forward to it providing a renewed focus for the area.

RECYCLING

You may recently have read in the news that the current administration in the Council are seeking to try new ways of increasing recycling and reducing the amount of waste going to landfill. One of the suggestions is to have fortnightly bin collections of your black and green bins. I applaud efforts to increase the recycling rate but I think we have to consider carefully the implications. A recent trial carried out in Rothwell that involved fortnightly collections was deemed successful, but a key part of this was the provision of a weekly collection of food waste. At the moment the proposals do not contain provision for the collection of food waste.

What are your views on this proposal. Please either write, email or telephone me with your comments.

Traffic management at the Council are promoting a casualty reduction scheme with an aim to reduce both traffic speeds and accidents along A660 Otley Road between Kingsley Drive and Kings Road.

Discussions were recently held with officers about their suggestion to improve road safety on teh above stretch of road. Set out below is the most recent information I have from the Council Officers:

“We have noted your support of some central hatching. Along with comments received from our Safety Audit team and cycling section, we now consider a change to the original proposals.

It is now intended that 2m width of central hatching be introduced from Golden Acre Park to the Kings Road only. With the introduction of central hatching running lanes will be narrowed but varying widths of 3.35m to 3.9m will still be available. Central hatching will have good potential for reducing vehicular speeds and accidents along this section.

This stretch of road is at present subject to the national speed limit. This length of road incorporates various road markings including left and right turning lanes for safer entry into the car park of Golden Acre Park and the Ramada Hotel. There is also double white lining system and edge of carriageway markings at various sections along Otley Road.

Ranked at 43 in the Lengths for Concern document 2010, there have been 17 accidents in that previous 5 year period. Accident analysis shows various types of accident including loss of control, nose to tail incidents and others registered as single occurrences.

Also an independent speed limit review of all ‘A’ and ‘B’ class roads across the city of Leeds has been undertaken with recommendations for changes to the existing speed limits, according to Circular 01/2006. The outcome of the review recommends a change to the speed limit from National speed limit to 50mph for that length of A660 Otley Road from Kingsley Drive to Kings Road.”