Your Leeds local election 2018 A to Z: Weetwood

Weetwood is in the inner north west area of Leeds and includes in its boundaries Cookridge East, Far Headingley, Tinshill and Weetwood itself.
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WEETWOOD - KEY ISSUES AND NUMBERS

It’s one of the few wards in the city with a full cohort of incumbent Lib Dem councillors, although the wider parliamentary constituency of Leeds North West is held by a Labour MP.

Average life expectancy in this ward is 84 years. The biggest age group is the 25 to 49 years bracket. In fact, there are twice a many people of this age in the ward than any other range, 34 per cent versus around 16 to 17 per cent for every other group.

WEETWOOD: Tinshill Avenue   PIC: GoogleWEETWOOD: Tinshill Avenue   PIC: Google
WEETWOOD: Tinshill Avenue PIC: Google
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The average house price is £232,000, according to figures from August 2017. This is more than £50,000 higher than the city average.

Employment figures are better than the city average overall, as is the percentage of young people in education or training.

Educational attainment and attendance are higher than the city average, and health outcomes are also better overall.

The education sector accounts for more than a third of all jobs in the are, this is possibly linked to the location of Leeds Beckett’s Headingley campus in the ward.

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Crime levels are significantly lower than the city average, with 59.7 crimes per 1,000 of the population in 2016/17, compared to 107.4 per 1,000 for the city overall.

Local election turnout in 2016 was one of the highest in the city, at 41.3 per cent (the city average was 34 per cent).

In 2015 (when there was also a General Election) the turnout was 68.2 per cent.

Among the active community groups is the Far Headingley Village Society, which is dedicated to “the conservation and improvement of the area for the benefit of the inhabitants and all who make use of its amenities.” Founded in 1971 to challenge the city council’s proposal to demolish over 60 ‘unfit dwellings’ the society has since - according to its website - “successfully argued for the designation of a Conservation Area to protect the atmosphere of what is still, at its heart, an urban village”.

THE CANDIDATES

Basu, Angelo - Conservative Party

Bentley, Jonathan Joseph - Liberal Democrats

Gibson, James Garry - Labour Party

Hemingway, Martin Francis - Green Party

Jennings, Brian David Timothy - Liberal Democrats

Jessop, David Graham - Conservative Party

Kiernan, Howard Geoffrey - Conservative Party

Knight, Christine Jane - Labour Party

McMahon, John - Labour Party

Sebire, Lynda Frances - Liberal Democrats

>What matters to Weetwood voters as election day approaches? Email [email protected]