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Headway (issue 18) - October 2006
Click here for the latest edition of Headway.
Issue #18 News on the way we're heading in & around Headingley October 2006
Headway aims to let local residents know which way we're heading in & around Headingley. Local community associations have got together to share & circulate information – Cardigan Triangle, Far Headingley, Heal Headingley, Headingley Network, Highburys, Kirkstall Village, Moor
Parks, North Hyde Park, South Headingley & Turnways. We'd be pleased if other associations joined us. Everyone is invited to send us any
news that matters to Headingley. Headway is an initiative of Leeds HMO Lobby, the collective campaigning for local housing balance.
Here's how it works: Latest news will be published on an ongoing basis on the Message Board of the Heal Headingley website. The printed
version of Headway will come out every quarter. Anyone is welcome to send us items for either or both of these. Anyone is welcome to be on
the mailing list. Let us know if you are online, and we can deliver Headway by email. See back page for contact details.
Heading Home
As the local housing market is teetering on turmoil, community and Council initiatives are heading Headingley towards a place we can really call home. Headingley Development Trust is working hard for the community.
Headingley Development Trust
The Trust was set up a year ago, so that the local community could not only lobby others to do things, but also take action ourselves. Our ambition has certainly caught on – we now have over 300 members! If you have friends or neighbours who haven't joined yet, please encourage them to do so. Membership forms can be downloaded from the website www.headingleydevelopmenttrust.org.uk or look out for our stall at events like the Deli Market. Some of our activities are outlined below, and our first Annual General Meeting is due in January next year.
One of our main concerns is Headingley Primary School. The children have returned to school but the School stands empty, at risk of vandalism because no decision has been taken as to the future of the building. The Trust has plenty of ideas for ways in which we could use the building for the benefit of the local community; however we need a decision from the Council to transfer this important community asset to HDT so that we can then go about the task of raising money for refurbishment. If you have not already done so please go to http://www.gopetition.com/online/9570.html and sign the on-line petition asking the Council to keep the buildings of Headingley Primary School in community use, in the interests of all residents of the area.
Lesley Jeffries, Headingley Development Trust
Deli Market
HDT's new Deli Market got off to a flying start on 9 September, helped by wonderful weather and the atmosphere stirred up by Celebrate Headingley. Thank you to all who turned out in support, delivered leaflets and helped with the stalls. It was a great collective effort and a great testament to the power of the self-help
enterprise-based action which HDT stands for.
You will be glad to know that Headingley stalwarts Keith Harris and the Natural Food Store also did a roaring trade. The next market will be even bigger and better, with a mushroom specialist and a speciality baker.
Caf Scientifique
HDT's Caf Scientifique is the place for socialising and mind-stretching discussion. After three meetings, the Caf goes from strength to strength – all were well-attended and generated lively discussion. If you'd like to be
on the mailing list, contact: chris@headingleydevelopmenttrust.org.uk
Chris Hill, Headingley Development Trust
HeadingleyHomes
Meanwhile, HDT is exploring other ways of achieving a sustainable community. We are working with housing agencies to attract more families into the area. One such agency is Manning Stainton, which opened its first branch in Headingley nearly fifteen years ago, is now city-wide, and is well-known locally for its community involvement. Manning Stainton is supporting HDT's 'family-friendly' option called HeadingleyHomes. This will of course offer homes to families wanting to move into Headingley.
But at the same time, many Headingley families who love the area but have to leave are keen to pass on their homes to new families. The aim of our HeadingleyHomes initiative is to help them to do so. Contact Clare Frieze, at Manning Stainton's Headingley Branch, 20 Otley Road, tel 2748646, email: headingley@manningstainton.co.uk>
Richard Tyler, Headingley Development Trust
Market Research
Demand & supply are changing in & around Headingley - student numbers are no longer rising at a high rate, an Area of Housing Mix has been introduced, and so has HMO licensing (cont over],
Heading Home (2)
Leeds City Council Area of Housing Mix
Leeds' new city-wide Plan, the Revised UDP, was adopted by the Council on 19 July – and with it, the new 'Area of Housing Mix' (AHoM), which covers the communities in & around Headingley, and is intended to keep a mix of housing. The new policy both encourages student housing outside the Area, and resists it within. The
policy is much stronger than the old UDP, and it has already born fruit – over the summer, the
Council turned down a planning application for a new student hall of nearly 50 beds on St Michael's Lane. This sends out a clear message to future developments.
Leeds HMO Licensing The beginning of July was the deadline for landlords to get in their applications for licences for HMOs (houses in multiple occupation, or shared houses), as required by the new Housing Act. Leeds has more licensable HMOs than any other town, but progress has been slow.
* Landlords have been slow to apply, little more than a quarter of the estimated 8,000 so far.
* Flaws in the legislation, especially over fire safety, have prevented the Council from issuing any licences
at all as yet.
* And computer problems have prevented them even publishing a Public Register of applications. Leeds HMO Lobby is ready to help the Council to track down the thousands of HMOs who still have to apply – as soon as the Council's problems are overcome.
Shared Housing Action Plan The Shared Housing Group is made up of representatives of all the parties concerned with student housing in Leeds (Council & community, universities and
students, landlords, etc), and its aim is to tackle the imbalance of student housing, both in & around
Headingley, and throughout the city. In order to do this, the Group has been revising its Shared
Housing Action Plan. In September, the 27 actionpoints of this new Plan, and targets for each, were
finally agreed. The Plan includes measures to deal with housing imbalance, to tackle the effects of this
imbalance (noise, mess, pubs, etc), and to monitor progress.
Leeds HMO Lobby
Neighbours Good neighbours keep the community sustainable. To this end, Leeds HMO Lobby has produced a Community Code, which says simply, Say Hello, Keep the Peace, Clean Up.
But bad neighbours undermine the community. To this end, at the start of another academic year, the two universities are re-launching their Neighbourhood Helpline, for those living in the shadow of the ivory tower. If you're having problems with neighbours (noise, bins, parking, etc), ring 343 1064 (voice-mail) or e-mail: neighbourhood.helpline@leeds.ac.uk
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Headingley Development Trust (continued]
Deli Market Stallholders have also promised to bring more produce (and more help!). The ethos of the market is to support local Yorkshire-based food producers, as well as giving us an opportunity to buy good quality local food
(addressing environmental issues such as food miles, etc). However, we want to make sure the
community has access to other produce too, so we will be having one or two guest stalls at each
market, providing high quality imported food and/or locally produced plants. Please contact
us if you can help with first aid, or with an outlet for leaflets jened@hotmail.co.uk.
Helen Seymour, Headingley Development Trust
Market Research (cont] new options are available for students in commercial developments outside the Area, there is growing evidence of increased demand from other markets. The upshot is that at the start of a new
academic year, there are hundreds of houses and 3,000 bedspaces empty. So HDT is supporting research to better understand the changes and to generate ideas about positive ways forward. All the main parties are involved, local agents & owners, the two universities and student unions, Unipol, the Council NW Area
Team, and so on. The aims of the research are to gain a clear understanding of current state of supply & demand in & around Headingley, to trace the impact of HMO licensing as it takes effect, to develop ideas for managing the future of the market to improve the quality of the community (especially work towards a more balanced housing market and demographic profile), to establish potential initiatives for bringing ex-shared housing for sale back into use as affordable housing, to make practical suggestions about how student housing needs
can be met in ways that are more compatible with the needs of longer term residents. We will
keep everyone informed of progress.
Rachael Unsworth, University of Leeds
Symptoms of Studentification
As the normal checks & balances of a community fall away, more & more measures are brought in to replace them. These already include the Area of Housing Mix and HMO Licensing, the Cumulative Impact Policy (on pub licences) and the DPPO (public drinking ban). More have been added.
Freshers Week The Freshers Week Planning Group was set up in March with representatives from the police, residents, environmental health, enforcement, Streetscene, both universities and students. The aim was to tackle the incidents that occur in Freshers Week that disrupt life for residents which have not been addressed in the
past. The result has been a greater police and council presence in Headingley during Freshers
Week, better co-operation with the universities, and the introduction of a Flyer Zone (see below],
and a remarkable improvement. The Group will continue to meet to assess the effectiveness of
the new measures and consider improvements for next year.
Flyer Designated Control Zone Leeds is thought to be the first city in the UK to introduce a new Flyer Designated Control Zone, created under the Clean Neighbourhoods Act legislation.
The new controls were introduced on 15 September, ahead of Freshers Week, when the problem of litter from flyering increases as thousands of new students are targeted by promoters. The zone includes the main areas with problems, the city centre, and areas of Woodhouse Moor, Hyde Park and Headingley.
Distributing flyers without consent carries a fixed penalty of 75 and material is confiscated. Both the distributor and the organiser can be fined.
Greener Bins? Waste disposal is a major problem (especially in HMOs), and in places, recycling has effectively collapsed. So, with the new academic year, the Council has introduced
a new campaign across AHoM. In September, bins were stickered and houses leafleted. In October, there will be local advertising.
In between, there will be a media launch. At the same time, there will be new penalties for contaminating green bins, and for leaving bins on the street. Later, the campaign will be assessed at a special meeting of Headingley
Forum: look out for details.
Cllr James Monaghan, Headingley Ward
Letting Boards
In the face of the vast numbers of Letting Boards, last year the Council received special powers from the government to control their use in Headingley and Hyde Park.
* A new code of practice, limiting their size and numbers, was agreed between all interested parties and has been introduced in phases from January this year.
* Planning officers have been regularly surveying the effect of the code. As a result, in the summer, there were three successful prosecutions, with fines totalling over 2,200 for nine separate offences. Another 18 prosecutions
are pending, relating to 99 alleged offences, and more are being prepared.
* In accordance with the code, all of the boards in the designated area should be removed during November. For info on the code, contact Andrew Crates on 247 8027.
Andrew Crates, Community Planning Officer
Blooming Landlords
This year, Unipol with Leeds in Bloom and Leeds HMO Lobby, organised the first-ever garden competition for private sector landlords. The aim was to reward those landlords who already put in the effort to ensure their gardens are well kept, and to highlight to other landlords the obvious advantages of gardens that contribute to the street scene, as opposed to being eye sores. Although the quantity of entries was small, the quality was very high. They were judged by students, Leeds in Bloom, a Councillor and the Lobby. First prize went to a garden in Holbeck, but second and third places went to 1 Ash Grove and 47 Kensington Terrace. In addition, the Lobby awarded its own 'Green Garden' prize for sustainability to the garden in Kensington Terrace. The winners were presented with their certificates at the Leeds in Bloom ceremony, held on 28 September in Leeds Town Hall.
Simon Kemp, Unipol
When Leeds Met Headingley ...
Leeds Met continues its unique contribution to Headingley. Last session, their 'Great Student Run' over-ran Headingley, and their enormous stand at the Stadium dominates neighbours. This year, they plan a new 500-bed hall on the Beckett's Park Campus.
Useful numbers
Police (non-emergency): 0845 60 60 60 6
Noise nuisance: 240 7361
Streetscene (rubbish, bins, etc): 0845 124 0113
Enforcement (fliers,, etc): 0845 124 0113
Headway #18, October 2006 page 4
Neighbourhood News
Kirkstall Festival Well, this year was our 26th annual Festival and once again it was a wonderful day enjoyed by all. One of our new features this year was the "Tea dance marquee" run by Older Active People from the Cardigan Centre. It proved to be very popular and we do hope they will be with us again next year. We do try to provide
events and attractions which will appeal to everyone and we are always looking for new
ideas, so if there is something you would like us to do at our festival please get in touch. And do
look at our website, Kirkstall Online, for photographs of the festivals. Make a note in your diary - Saturday 14 July 2007 is next year's Festival, I do hope you will come and see us.
John Liversedge, Kirkstall Festival
Cardigan Triangle Community Association held an Art Day on 17 September where residents showed their own work or the work of friends and relatives, including paintings, photography , millinery, textiles and more. Just
under 200 people viewed the work during the day, and the atmosphere was wonderful - the sun shone, refreshments were served in a ginnel, and the event attracted both neighbours and those from further afield. We plan to make the Art Day an annual event.
Woodhouse Moor public meeting is at 6.30 on Monday 2 October, on the Council's Management Plan for the Moor.
Caf Scientifique Next meeting is a debate on global warming and nuclear power, at 7.30pm, on 3 October, at the New Headingley Club, St Michael's Road, entry 2.00.
Planning Problems? Ask Andrew! For advice, contact Andrew Crates, Community Planning
Officer, 247 8027 or andrew.crates@leeds.gov.uk
Headingley Network meeting on Celebrate Headingley is at 7.30 on Tuesday 10 October in Headingley Community Centre.
Deli Market is 9.00-12.30 on the second Saturday of each month, 14 October, 11 November, 9 December, in the Rose Garden, North Lane (opposite the Community Centre).
Area Committee consists of all our local councillors, and is open to the public. This autumn it meets at 7pm on 26 October and 7 December, venues tba.
North Hyde Park Neighbourhood Association AGM is at 8pm on Wednesday 1 November in Wrangthorn Church (not the Hall).
Far Headingley Village Society AGM is at 7.30 on Friday 17 November at St Chad's Parish Centre, speaker Greg Mulholland MP.
Keep in Touch
l On the web: visit the Heal Headingley website
l By email: if you have an account on the website, you can ask to join the Activist Mailing List.
l In print: subscribe to Headway, the quarterly community newsletter (free); contact Leeds HMO Lobby (address below) or download from the Heal Headingley website.
l In person: join a local community association; there is a group for most neighbourhoods in &
around Headingley, get contact details from Headway.
Look out for Headingley Directory, the free community news and local business directory,
published monthly in North Headingley.
Contact Headway by email at hmolobby@hotmail.com. To join your local association, for Headingley Network (central Headingley) contact
Lesley Jeffries (tel: 274 1011), for South Headingley contact Sue Buckle (tel: 278 2296), for North Hyde Park contact Chris Webb (tel: 275
1030), for Far Headingley contact Donald Hood (tel: 275 5575), for Kirkstall contact John Liversedge (tel: 278 5987), for Moor Parks contact
Kate Henshall (tel: 274 1550), for Cardigan Triangle contact Bill Rollinson (tel: 274 3353), for Highburys contact Ian Oldroyd (tel 294 5621).
Keep up-to-date by checking the Message Board on Heal Headingley's website at www.HealHeadingley.org.uk. Anyone can add items of
interest to long-term residents to the Message Board. Internet access is provided free at Headingley Library, where help is available if needed.
Headway is also available online at www.HealHeadingley.org.uk
Headway is published by Leeds HMO Lobby, c/o Cardigan Centre, 145 Cardigan Road, Leeds LS6 1LJ, website www.hmolobby.org.uk/leeds,
it is supported by the North West (Inner) Area Committee, covering Headingley, Hyde Park & Woodhouse, Kirkstall and Weetwood,
and it is printed on recycled paper by Edwin Harmer, 67a Raglan Road, Leeds LS2 9DZ
The next issue of Headway is due to be published in January 2007.
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