Your Leeds local election 2018 A to Z: Adel and Wharfedale

THE CANDIDATESAnderson, Barry John - Conservative PartyAnderson, Caroline Helen - Conservative Flynn, Billy - Conservative Gill, Nigel James - Labour PartyJackson, Peter '“ Liberal DemocratsMontgomerie, Geraldine Robertshaw '“ Labour Rontree, Andy '“ Labour Swales, Liddy '“ Green PartyThornley, Ed '“ LiB DEMSTrewhella, Jane Sharon '“ Lib Dems

Accidetn scene on A660 Leeds Road, Pool In Wharfedale, near Leeds. Picture: James Hardisty

The Adel and Wharfedale ward of Leeds covers an expansive area, taking in large urban communities like Adel and Holt Park, and rural areas like Pool and Bramhope.

The average house price in the area is £305,000, making it the second most affluent district in Leeds. There is a large and growing retired community, with one in four residents being aged 65 or over. House prices have rocketed since 2011, when there was an average of £260,000-£270,000.

In Pool-in-Wharfedale, a key concern in the village is the increasing number of HGV lorries passing through via the A660. In fact, road safety and speeding vehicles have come increasingly into focus after the death of 18-year-old Kate Whalley last summer. The teenager died in a road accident on the A660 near the junction with Old Pool Bank.

It led to calls for a lowering of the speed limit, and the council’s Highways Department drew up a series of measures to slow down traffic.

Development of green belt land has been an ongoing area of concern for several years and is always a vote swayer. A major housing development on the edge of the village was refused and has gone to appeal. In Bramhope, voters worry that a lack of infrastructure to support 350 new homes could cause problems. The knock-on effect on local schools is of particular concern. In Holt Park, it’s feared that a supermarket development could displace existing businesses and reassurances are being sought. Over in Cookridge, the long-running saga of the ‘Soggy Bottom’ development is still causing a headache for locals. Although protesters failed to stop the 130-home development – on land they believed was a risk due to drainage issues – the constant movement of vehicles to and from the site is now damaging residential roads, it is claimed. Voters in Cookridge will want to see their new councillors lobby hard for speedy delivery of road improvements promised by the developer.

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