Debate: What would you do to improve South Leeds?

On By leeds11

Communities in South Leeds are renowned for their hard-working community groups and organisations. There are a lot of good people in South Leeds!

While we are lucky to have places like Middleton Park and Cross Flatts Park on our doorstep, there are other aspects of Beeston, Belle Isle, Cottingley Hall, Holbeck, Hunslet and Middleton that could be improved. .

Poor bus services, anti-social behaviour and rubbish dumping are just some of the issues we’ve discussed in the past on South Leeds Life. We’ve also looked at dog fouling through our Scoop It Up campaign.

Is community spirit on the wane? Is apathy taking hold of our communities? Organisations like Beeston Hill Residents’ Voice have folded this year. Are local shops being squeezed at the expense of large supermarket chains? Are Leeds United really a good neighbour?

Southleedslife.com isn’t here just to promote the local events and news, we are here to try help improve the area and give local people a voice, so as our readers this is YOUR opportunity to tell the local councillors (who we know are reading this) what you would like to be improved in your community.

If you had the money and power to improve your part of South Leeds for one day, what would you do? Post your comments below or tweet us @southleedslife or leave a comment on our Facebook page. It’s time to have your say!

5 Replies to “Debate: What would you do to improve South Leeds?”

  1. What would I change about South Leeds? Well, I’d probably look to dop something with Holbeck Moor – it’s a space that has potential. Nature trails perhaps. A garden area even.

    Oh, and I’d speed up that PFI malarchy – let’s get some houses up at last!

  2. Thanks for the suggestions, Leonard.

    The PFI issue and the lack of movement is a particularly troubling one.

    Strikes me though, that although people chunter about it nobody’s yet organised themselves into shouting up, making a nuisance of themselves and lobbying council/government or whoever to say ‘this isn’t good enough’. Perhaps another example of community apathy? Why SHOULD Holbeck put up with the treatment it’s received? The delays are intolerable, surely?

  3. I want to find a way to ensure that changes in south Leeds benefit residients of south Leeds. In theory one of the benefits of the Localism Act 2011 is to help enable this but we’ll see what happens in practice.

    Inner south Leeds is a series of communities which have been divided by motorways which mainly benefit those living outside the area and which divided areas in two – Holbeck being a particularly clear example. As far as I can see the principal ‘benefit’ of ploughing the motorway through Holbeck for local people was reducing the size of Holbeck Moor…

    However the very fact of the motorways and the proximity to potential development south of the current city centre provide potential real benefits to local people. I personally think what inner south need most is more viable commercial development providing ( and it’s big ‘providing’) the benefits through financial contributions as part of the planning process, jobs, local business taxation etc are directed towards existing communities.

    The most significant opportunity for new development is the area adjoining the city centre to the south of the River Aire including Holbeck Urban Village (HUV). It is extremely unfortunate that when HUV was originally planned insufficient thought was given to connecting to the rest of Holbeck and then further south to avoid creating an isolated pocket of affluence with no real connections with the rest of the community. I think it is essential that the proposed Holbeck Neighbourhood Plan includes all Holbeck north of the M621 including Holbeck Urban Village to avoid repeating past mistakes.

    1. I ve lived in Beeston 25 years seen the closure of 2 local High Schools, even more primary schools, 3 local post Offices, we have one bank left (Barclays on Dewsbury Road), the sports centre has been shut, our fire station to be closedthe golf course is threatened and our allotments due to have a 400% fee rise after years of above inflation increases, the houses built to replace the slums are now borded up or demolished. The council run people’s homes have been shut or privatised. Yet the Poll Tax (community charge) increased my local taxes by 400% The rich and powerful are taking the piss and our so called political representatives have done little to oppose any of this.

      Now the ConDem government are smashing what is left of the Welfare state and attacking our jobs and services. Everytime I see those war memorials scattered around Beeston I can’t help feeling those maily young men died so the super rich can continue to live the life extravagent on the £20 trillion stashed away in their legal offshore bank accounts. We don’t need “More Commercial Investment in South Leeds” we need a bloody great revolution ……like those 100,000 Chartists who drilled on Holbeck Moor in 1842 it is time to get rid of the rich!

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