Morley residents outrage as Leeds council plans to remove heritage lighting from town centre

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Morley residents have hit out at Leeds city council this week as works began to remove heritage lighting from the town centre.

Much of Morley town centre is a conservation area and most of the buildings are protected.

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As a result lighting down the main Queen Street has always had a Victorian style feel to it but city council has now began removing these lampposts in favour of new modern brushed steel items.

Much of Morley town centre is a conservation area and most of the buildings are protected. Picture: Lee Hession.Much of Morley town centre is a conservation area and most of the buildings are protected. Picture: Lee Hession.
Much of Morley town centre is a conservation area and most of the buildings are protected. Picture: Lee Hession.

This has resulted in anger among many local residents who feel they weren't consulted with regards to the change.

"It seems another example of not much thought being given to the community, them not being consulted and not being kept aware," Coun Terry Grayshon, told the YEP.

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"No one seems to know who authorised the change - the town deal board are saying it's the town council and the town council is saying it hasn't been discussed there either."

Many within the town feel this is yet another example of the views of the local community being ignored following the controversial Morley Bottoms closure.

In a bid to reduce air pollution in the spot a decision was made to fully pedestrianize the area.

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The project, which involved closing the lower end of Queen Street to general traffic, and increasing pedestrian crossings was rushed through during lockdown and council leaders were forced to explain the move in retrospect to angry residents.

Andrea Jenkyns, MP for Morley and Outwood, has joined calls to save Queen Street's Victorian style lighting columns.

"Heritage is at the heart of Morley, which is why I launched my petition to #SaveMorleysHeritageLighting," she tweeted.

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"Today, Leeds city council began to remove our heritage lighting, replacing it with lighting that fails to respect the unique history and heritage feel of our town."

Hundreds have since joined a petition to save the heritage lighting with Coun Grayshon feeling it is yet another example of the town not being represented.

"I understand that some of the lampposts are having LCD screens put on them to advertise events and whether that is what should be going on in a conservation area with a number of listed buildings is questionable," Coun Grayshon said.

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"There should have been lessons learnt from Morley bottoms but it appears very much like a - we are going to do what we want when we want it - type approach."

Leeds city council could not be reached for comment.