Your Leeds local election 2018 A to Z: Moortown

THE CANDIDATESAndrews, Gavin Michael - Green Party Charlwood, Rebecca Marie - Labour PartyCunliffe, Ross Alexander - Conservative Party Dowling, Ian George - Liberal Democrats Dresser, David Stephen - Liberal Democrats Greenberg, Ian - UK Independence Party Hamilton, Sharon - Labour Party Howley, Chris - Liberal Democrats Miles, Jeff - UK Independence Party Pearce, Liam Joshua James - Conservative Party Shahzad, Mohammed - Labour Party Speed, Rob - Conservative Party

MOORTOWN - KEY ISSUES AND NUMBERS

Moortown, with its leafy lanes and beautiful detached houses, is very much a des res area of Leeds, as evidenced by the £222,000 average house price, £44,000 more than the city average.

The ward sits in the inner north east area of the city and includes Carr Manor and Meanwood. It is the sixth biggest in area but the 12th least populated.

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The average age of residents, according to an official Leeds City Council ward profile for 2017, is 39.3 years. Life expectancy is 82 years, higher than the Leeds rate of 80.

Voters in the area are traditionally well engaged politically compared to the rest of the city. The turnout in the 2015 local election was 71 per cent, though it dropped to 39 per cent a year later when there was no General Election at the same time.

Crime rates are low, with 65.7 incidents per 1,000 of the population from 2016 to 2017, against a Leeds average of 107.4.

Joblessness and benefits claimants are significantly lower than the rest of the city, and the rate of young people who are NEET (not in employment, education or training) is just a third of the city average.

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The ward has been held by Labour since 2012, and was previously Lib Dem. But this year, it has a particularly long list of candidates representing all the big five parties, Conservative, Labour, Lib Dem, Green and Ukip. The Tories and Lib Dems are fielding a full three candidates each, Ukip two and the Green party just one.

The North Leeds school places ‘black hole’ has been the main talking point in the ward in the last couple of years. Moortown is part of a trio of wards affected.

Two local primary schools, Moor Allerton Hall and Allerton C of E primary schools, have both had to expand to take on more children.

But parents have remained at loggerheads with the council over the issue and the latest in a series of protests was held in February.

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Green spaces for the public are also a regular talking point locally, and a campaign to preserve Highbury Cricket Pitch for community use continues.

Also of continuing worry to some locals is the fallout from last summer’s traveller encampment on King Alfred’s Fields - which it is claimed have still not being made secure - plus uncertainty over communal space on the old Yorkshire Bank sports fields and safety of the Carr Manor Play Area.

What else matters to voters in Moortown? Email [email protected].

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