Leeds City Council: Dolphin Manor Care Home to be repurposed and parking charges set for Marsh Street Rothwell

Rothwell, to the south of the city, appears to be one of the worst affected areas by a sweeping series of proposals made by Leeds City Council this week to save money.

It comes as the authority must save £58.4m over the next 12 months, alongside £7.4m of already agreed savings, in order set a balanced budget for 2024/25. If it cannot do that, it would effectively be declaring bankruptcy.

The measures that have been suggested – which have yet to be officially signed off – include ending the lease on a well-loved museum, introducing car parking charges at three popular city parks, and axing 750 jobs at the authority.

They also include “repurposing” Dolphin Manor Care Home in Rothwell as a “recovery hub”, and introducing car parking charges in Marsh Street.

Coun Stewart Golton is the Leader of the Liberal Democrats at the council and has spoken out against the plans.

He said: “We don’t know what repurposing the home will actually mean, but I assume it will be some sort of step-down services for the NHS to get patients out of hospital as soon as possible.

“The council tried to close Dolphin Manor eight years ago, but there were a lot of people against it at the time and we managed to stop it from happening.

“The position we’re in now is because the council doesn’t have a lot of money to deliver services. But it needs to take on board that it has not made that situation any better over the last 10 years.

“It seems the council is not recognising the needs of the community by doing this.”

On charging to park in Marsh Street, he added: “People regularly drive into town to use the cafes and call into local shops, especially if they are older or disabled.

“The only way for them to get here is by car. If we make it more expensive for them, they might stop coming into town three or four times a week, and only coming in once a week.

“That would affect their wellbeing, because they’d be spend more time at home and less time socialising.”

The suggestions follow the council’s decision to auction Rothwell’s old civic building, in Marsh Street, despite pleas to avoid selling it off.

All of the council’s proposed measures, which include a 4.99% tax increase, are due to be discussed by senior councillors at an executive board meeting on December 13.