Lawnswood Roundabout: Plans to redesign one of Leeds' most dangerous junctions splits opinion

Leeds City Council wants to press on with the revamp of Lawnswood Roundabout, where 29 collisions resulting in injury were recorded between 2015 and 2019. Under the scheme, the junction would be traffic lighted, while bus and cycle lanes will be created to help improve the flow of those vehicles from Otley Road and the A6120.

But a draft outline business case for the scheme, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, has indicated the project would represent “very poor” value for money and “adversely impact” biodiversity through the loss of trees.

The council has insisted this document is unfinished and still subject to changes, before it goes before the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) for approval later this year.

But critics have seized on its contents as vindication of their concerns. Among them is The West Park Residents Association, who’ve maintained their stance that the scheme will result in more pollution through slowing cars down.

Chair Graham Sugden said: “It’s a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The roundabout operates smoothly for the majority of the day, even if it does get busier around rush hour as you’d expect.

“We are not in any way opposed to toucan crossings being put on all sides of the roundabout and we never have been. The problem can be sorted far more easily than this.”

Another critic, former Liberal Democrat councillor for Weetwood, Chris Howley, expressed concerns about the proposal’s rising costs, which have risen from an estimated £10m to £13m in a matter of months.

"My view is that it doesn’t meet its strategic objectives and it doesn’t represent value for money,” he said.

But supporters of the project say a radical solution is needed to make the roundabout safer for cyclists and pedestrians, including schoolchildren, who use the roundabout. Local Labour councillors Izaak Wilson, Emma Flint and Jools Heselwood said they’re fully behind the revamp, while the council itself said it had been “positively received” by the public.

Councillor Wilson stated: “We recently spoke to one parent who said they regularly use their car for a five-minute trip, because crossing the roundabout with young kids is not worth the risk.

“There has been extensive consultation about these plans and we’ve spoken to hundreds of people of all abilities and ages who need a change. It was the first thing raised with us as local councillors when we spoke to schoolchildren about their priorities at Lawnswood and at Ireland Wood Primary.”

The council has acknowledged that the scheme would increase journey times for cars at some times of the day, but insists this will be by no more than 60 seconds in most cases. Bus journey times will improve, it added.

On the subject of it being classed as poor value for money, the council said this was based on the “modest” economic benefits the scheme is likely to deliver, but that this assessment placed less weight on the road safety aspect.

A spokesperson for the authority said: “We believe that in this instance the benefits of safer, more active and more sustainable travel options support the Connecting Leeds Transport Strategy and our Vision Zero ambition to eradicate deaths and serious injuries on our roads, and outweigh the significant challenges faced in the delivery of this scheme.

“Encouraging more active modes of travel should also produce an overall improvement in air quality, but it is unclear what the impact will be in the immediate vicinity of the roundabout and further modelling will be carried out to establish this.”

They added: “The scheme’s design will minimise impacts on trees and green space as far as possible and we will replace any trees lost at a ratio of at least three-to-one with associated tree planting and landscaping seeking to enhance biodiversity where possible.”