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Headway (issue 19) - January 2007
Click here to read the latest edition of Headway.
Issue #19
News on the way we're heading in & around Headingley
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, 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 is published on an ongoing basis on the Headingley Community website. The printed version of Headway comes 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.
Housing in Headingley
Leeds HMO Lobby is an alliance of all the community associations in & around Headingley, set up in 2000 to tackle the problems caused by concentrations of HMOs (houses in multiple occupation, or shared houses). Since 2002, Headway has been reporting our progress. One of the first things we did was to put forward a Grand Strategy for dealing with these problems. Since then, we've campaigned to follow through this Strategy, and in the light of developments, we recently revised it. Inside this issue of Headway, we review the progress we have made – which is actually quite gratifying. Copies of the Grand Strategy, and other documents mentioned, are available from the Lobby (address on back page) or can be found on our website at www.hmolobby.org.uk/leeds
Headingley Primary School The Council's Executive Board on 13 December decided to delay the disposal of the school building for six months to allow Headingley Development Trust to develop final proposals for the building and secure the necessary capital funding for its refurbishment in line with the business plan.
Headingley Development Trust
Leeds HMO Licensing
The new Housing Act of 2004 introduced compulsory licensing of all larger HMOs early in 2006. This covers all those with three or more storeys and five or more occupants. Legal and technical difficulties have delayed progress in Leeds (and around the country) but at the end of last year, the Council was at last able to publish a Register of all HMOs which have so far applied for a licence. Nearly 2,500 applications have been made, mostly in & around Headingley, but this is probably only half of the city's total. The Council is now in a position to begin issuing licences – and also prosecuting those who have not applied (one prosecution of a landlord with five HMOs is already under way). If you want to check on HMOs in your street, go to the 'HMO' page on the Council website at www.leeds.gov.uk, and you will find a link to the HMO Register. You can report any missing HMOs to the Council at HMO Licensing Services Team, 110 Merrion Centre, Leeds LS2 8BB; tel: 0113 247 6248; email: hmo.team@leeds.gov.uk. Leeds HMO Lobby has produced a Notification form which you can use.
Leeds HMO Lobby
Headingley Hunted
We're making progress in & around Headingley, but our communities remain under intense pressure. Students' latest 'house hunting' season begins on 13 January, when students start looking for second homes in Leeds for next academic year. Despite it all, residents welcome responsible students in proportionate numbers. Leeds HMO Lobby has produced a Community Code on what's responsible, which says simply 'Say Hello! Keep the Peace, Clean Up.' And to keep numbers proportionate, the Lobby has asked Unipol to produce a Guide to 'Where to Live' throughout Leeds. Both of the universities, as well as Unipol, have agreed to include the Code and the Guide in their advice to students.
l But the pressure continues. Last year, Trinity & All Saints College in Horsforth announced that it was considering becoming a university itself, and expanding by 40%. And Leeds Met announced plans for a 500-bed hall at Beckett's Park. (If you still want to respond, and have not done so, it's not too late.
Housing in (and
Review
As we all know too well, huge changes have taken place in & around Headingley during the last decade. The expansion of the universities without proper student housing provision has produced what social scientists have called the studentification of our community.
* In response to the problems, in 2000 Leeds HMO Lobby brought together all the local community associations, and adopted a Grand Strategy in 2002, which opened three fronts – resistance to further change in & around Headingley, redirection of student demand elsewhere in the city, and revival of the devastated areas.
* As a result of angry pressure from the community, Leeds City Council set up a Student Housing Group with representatives of the Council and community, universities and students, and landlords. In 2002, the Group adopted a Student Housing Action Plan (SHAP), which has just been revised as SHAP2. This includes action-points on resistance, redirection and revival (as well as action on all the problems, and regular monitoring).
* SHAP2 coincides with a turning point for communities in & around Headingley. At the census of 1991, the student population of Headingley Ward was about 20%. Students were one among a whole range of social groups. By 2001, the student population had rocketed to 60%, and students dominated every aspect of the Ward. For a few years the imbalance got worse. But now, a sudden change has come about. Big developers have seen the money to be made from students, and new purpose-built developments have siphoned off student demand. Unipol reports that at the beginning of the academic year, 381 of their properties (14% of the total) were vacant, mostly in Headingley (81 or 17%) and Hyde Park (96 or 10%). This sudden change brings great opportunities – and also, potentially great problems, the problems of destudentification. It is essential to understand what's happening and where, so all the parties in the Shared Housing Group are supporting a research project into housing in Headingley, carried out by a housing expert, Dr Rachael Unsworth of Leeds University.
Resistance
The Lobby's first front is to resist HMOs. It has pressed for both planning and housing controls.
* When the Review of Leeds' UDP, the grand city plan, began in 2002, the Lobby proposed policies of restraint on HMOs in & around Headingley. The Council's first proposal was for ASHORE (an Area of Student Housing Restraint). But when the Revised UDP was finally adopted in 2006, it included an Area of Housing Mix. Rather than banning student housing, this promotes family housing – which has much the same effect. Any development which needs planning permission has to face this test, and already several applications have been refused. (Regrettably, many HMOs still don't need planning permission.) Meanwhile, the Revised UDP is itself being replaced by a Local Development Framework (LDF), and the Lobby is campaigning for this to include a local Area Action Plan for Inner NW Leeds to tackle planning problems as a whole in our Area.
* The Housing Act 2004 introduced HMO licensing, which began early in 2006. All larger HMOs (3 or more storeys and 5 or more occupants) now have to have a licence, and this probably covers most HMOs in & around Headingley. So far, nearly 2,500 applications have been made, and the Council is now processing these. Residents can alert the Council to HMOs avoiding licensing (see front page). Later this year, the Lobby will be pressing the Council to extend licensing to all HMOs in our Area – which they have the option to do under the Housing Act. Our campaign is to License the Lot! Comprehensive HMO licensing will help discourage conversion of further HMOs by landlords and parents.
* Housing balance is the root of the problem, but other measures have been brought in to tackle its effects. In fact, Headingley is probably now the most regulated suburb in the city - a Cumulative Impact policy opposes additions & extensions to licensed premises; a Designated Public Places Order bans public drinking; Letting Boards are controlled by a special Code; a Flyer Control Zone stops unlicensed leafleting; and a new policy on take-aways is on its way.
around) Headingley
Redirection
The second front is to restore the balance of student housing in the city as a whole, by redirecting it to other areas. This is under way by specific student housing developments and by promoting other areas.
l The Revised UDP includes a policy to encourage student housing elsewhere. The Lobby proposed Student Settlements. An early scheme for a student village in South Leeds came to nothing – partly because developers were already putting up blocks elsewhere. There is now a necklace of such buildings around the city centre – to the South at Clarence Dock, to the East at Mill Street, to the North at Claypit Lane, to the North-West around the university campuses, along Woodhouse Lane, and to the West along Burley Road. (But the last is a disaster – there is now effectively a huge un-planned student village, without proper infrastructure, dominating Little Woodhouse community.) This huge expansion more than anything has redirected student housing away from Headingley.
* Some students are interested in other areas of Leeds anyway. Other areas offer an opportunity to 'live in the community' (and not in a student colony), and they can be much cheaper and safer. In fact, students are scattered in ones and twos across the city. Many students have called for more info on other areas. The Lobby has campaigned for info on rents, safety, transport & amenities in other areas in its Students in the City plan. The Lobby therefore welcomes Unipol's 'Where to Live' website, promoted in its literature and by both universities.
* Redirection is certainly working, and its impact is felt in the 'resort economy' which has grown up in Headingley. A local bar owner says, "The general consensus between the operators of the night time economy in Headingley is that student numbers are substantially down. This seems mostly to be due to the massive increase in purpose built accommodation such as on Burley Road. Put quite simply there are virtually no freshers (who are by far the most LOUD bunch) in Headingley this year so far and we are certainly seeing it at the sharp end."
Revival
The Lobby's final front is to revive Headingley, to bring back the diversity which has been lost. More than anything, this means bringing back more long-term residents, especially families, to restore the balance of the community. In order to do this we have to make it not only possible, but also desirable for residents to return. Headingley Development Trust is key here. Community associations have campaigned for years – as a community-based social enterprise, HDT can take action itself
l The key to reviving the Area is an overall strategy. The Lobby argues that we need to tackle our particular problems and build on our special strengths, and it has proposed Leeds Left Bank (2004) as a strategy. The Central Headingley Strategy Group produced Headingley Renaissance in 2005. And now, on-going community lobbying has led to the Area Committee setting up a Project to develop a Vision for the whole of our Area.
l The main thing which makes it difficult for residents to return is inflated property prices. Student landlords (relying on rents) easily outbid home-buyers. So HDT has set up the Housing in Headingley project to promote affordable housing, and is working with the Council and other housing agencies. But the problem is not easy to solve. One useful spin-off is HeadingleyHomes in association with Manning Stainton (see back page).
l Future residents may also be put off by the loss of amenities. A major initiative here is HDT's bid to make the former Headingley Primary School into a focus for creative new businesses, called HEART. HDT has also set up the successful monthly Deli Market (see back page). And in order to preserve the environment, HDT is about to begin work on a Neighbourhood Design Statement for Central & South Headingley, like the one produced for Far Headingley in 2005.
All of these efforts have brought a new confidence to the community. We still have a long way to go – but we've come a long way since we began campaigning all those years ago.
Neighbourhood News
Little Woodhouse Community Forum 7pm Tuesday 9 January, Civic Hall, on "Students in the Community"
Deli Market is 9.00-12.30 on the second Saturday of each month, 13 Jan, 10 Feb, 10 March, in the Rose Garden, North Lane (opposite the Community Centre).
Caf Scientifique Peter Finch, "Is it Art?" 7.45pm, Thurs, 18 January, New Headingley Club, St Michael's Road, entry 2.00. For mailing list, contact chris@headingleydevelopmenttrust.org.uk
Leeds Girls High School held a brief initial consultation on the development of their Headingley sites in December. Late in January there will be further consultation on a Design Brief for these sites.
Area Committee meets 7pm, Thurs, 8 Feb, Hawksworth Wood Children's Centre, and 7pm, 29 March, venue tba. The Committee has set up a group to prepare a 'Vision' for our area.
Headingley Development Trust AGM, 7.30, Tues 27 February, venue tba.
HeadingleyHomes Love Headingley, but have to leave? Contact Clare Frieze, at Manning Stainton's Headingley Branch, 20 Otley Road, 274 8646, or headingley@manningstainton.co.uk
Headingley Network Members News
Headingley Network is being re-launched in 2007! Look out for new leaflets, and pass them on to friends and neighbours. The Headingley Community website will in future be provided by Headingley Network, and we look forward to showcasing its latest facilities at our AGM, which this year will be in March (date to be announced). Our main roles will be campaigning on issues relating to the commercial provision in central Headingley (licenses in particular) and also being the organisation behind Celebrate Headingley, the festival that is now bringing people together at events throughout the year. We also have a sub-group interested in transport. We aim to complement local residents' associations. Contact the Chair, Lesley Jeffries (2741011, lesley@webbjeff.free-online.co.uk) or the Secretary, Rachel Harkess (2756652, rharkess@hotmail.com).
Wildlife Watch for children up to 12 is on the first Sunday of each month, at Hollybush Conservation Centre, Broad Lane, Kirkstall. Contact friendsofhollybush@hotmail.co.uk or call the Hollybush Centre on 0113 2742335, or visit the website at www.hollybushleeds.org.uk
Green Houses After consultation with the Woodland Trust, Parklane has come up with a 'Tri-partite' approach to counter global warming called 'Go Green with Parklane!' The scheme is pretty straightforward, and relies on the three partners, Parklane, the Tenant and the Woodland Trust. Parklane ensures that a number of 'green' credited properties are available, which will be energy efficient, and supplied with a 'doing your bit' box. Parklane also supplies the household with two bicycles. The students' side is to leave at least two cars at home, and to do simple things to save energy. Parklane reviews the household's carbon footprint and then calculates the estimated CO2 emissions for the year. This is sent to the Woodland Trust for verification who translate the figure into a number of trees. Parklane will pay for the Trust to plant the trees, thus putting a little back against the CO2 emissions. The household receives a certificate from the Trust. Director Nav Ahmed says, 'The plan is to launch the scheme with between 15 – 20 houses. This scheme will be verified and authenticated by an outside body (The Trust) and given that all parties 'do their bit' we are confident that this scheme will help the environment and be a massive success with the students. I'm sure the local residents will be happy about reducing the number of cars in the area as well!'
Parklane Properties
Planning Problems? Ask Andrew! For advice, contact Andrew Crates, Community Planning Officer, 247 8027 or andrew.crates@leeds.gov.uk
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 Peter Spafford (tel: 275 4199), for Highburys contact Ian Oldroyd (tel 294 5621).
Keep up-to-date by checking the Headingley Community website at www.healheadingley.org.uk. Anyone can post content on the website once they have registered and got a password. Internet access is provided free at Headingley Library, where help is available if needed.
Headway is also available online at www.healheadingley.org.uk/node/45
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 April.
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Thursday 09 February 2012
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