Morley Town Hall 'Green and Connected' drop-in hailed "great success"

The 'Green and Connected' public drop-in held at Morley Town Hall on November 25 marked the launch of an online public consultation survey on aspects of the 'Town Investment Plan'.

The event, run by the Morley Town Deal Board with Leeds City Council, was well attended and offered the opportunity for people to learn more about the project, put questions to project officials and board members, and give their feedback on the proposals.

The event also offered attendees the opportunity to tour the Grade-I listed Town Hall and participate in art sessions run by local Morley artist Rachel Savage.

The Town Investment Plan is funded through a £24.3 million grant from the Government's Towns Fund, secured in March. The ongoing online survey aims to continue gathering public opinion on a broad range of proposals which include:

Upgrading and creating new green spaces

Investment in local parks

Offering better connections to the rail station

Providing better facilities for pedestrians and cyclists

Improving the civic space surrounding the Grade I listed Morley Town Hall

In a statement released following the consultation Coun Helen Hayden, Leeds City Council's Executive Member for Infrastructure and Climate, spoke of the importance the deal can have in modernising Morley and the surrounding areas:

"The Green and Connected proposals are an essential part of ongoing efforts to improve health, the environment, and transport links in Morley, so it was good to see so many people attending the event, learning more about the proposals and giving their feedback.

"The proposals will deliver a wide range of benefits to local people, especially in the provision of active transport links, better leisure facilities, improved public spaces and more accessible, safer access to public transport. Therefore, I would encourage the whole community to get involved.

"The Morley Town Investment Plan demonstrates our continued commitment to delivering much-needed improvements for residents, employees and visitors across the Leeds district and, when complete, will contribute to the vision of Leeds becoming a net-zero carbon city by 2030.

The town deal previously faced criticism after changes to Morley Bottoms went ahead without prior public consultation.

Despite this the Morley Town Deal Board Chair, Gerald Jennings feels the consultation as part of the drop-in is something which can very much be built upon.

"The great success of the Town Hall event was a solid start to the conversation on the proposed improvements to Morley town centre and is a conversation we can build upon with engagement through the online survey." he said "We want to ensure that any changes made to the town reflect the wants and needs of the wider community, so public opinion and feedback is a really important part of this project."

The £24.3 million Towns Fund grant will deliver on key priorities identified through public consultation undertaken in 2020, including greenspaces, jobs, skills, and improving cherished buildings.

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