The supreme court this week ruled that the Leeds Group’s permission to appeal was dismissed because their applications do not raise an arguable point of law, and their other claim that the retrospective nature of the Village Green infringed their human rights was correctly dismissed by the court of appeal. This would now finally appear to be the end of the matter.

The secondary concern that Leeds City Council had put their part of Yeadon Banks into the SHLAA, (Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment) is now less of a worry since the chief executive replied to the concerns of Cllr Campbell and me.

“The SHLAA is updated annually and as a result of the village green decision we will change the “LDF to determine” to a definite “No” at the next opportunity. The SHLAA already includes many sites with a “No” listing and more will fall into that category as decisions are made on site allocations. The “Nos” remain in the database as a record (and evidence for a future examination) of the range of sites considered and the thoroughness of the exercise.

For information in assessing the numbers of dwellings that PAS sites might yield as part of the Core Strategy work we already assume a nil output from the Yeadon Banks site.

I hope this explains the current position and reassures you that we have a joined up approach. Retaining the site in the SHLAA but with a “No” listing will show that the Council has positively responded to the village green decision.”

So this is good news, but there are still further local Green Belt sites under threat to fight for

Harry Ramsden’s in Guiseley was reopened today as part of the Wetherby Whaler chain.

I was fortunate to attend the launch lunch. Former cricket umpire Dickie Bird was one of the guests along with members of the Ramsden family and Otley resident Mavis Broadbent who with her twin sister who had 60years earlier been pictured with Harry Ramsden at the restaurant.

Former Bridge End Auction Market Billams Hill Otley

REF : 12/02098/CA

Conservation Area application to demolish 3 No. buildings

Throstle Nest Farm Weston Lane Otley LS21 2HJ

REF : 12/02130/LI

Listed Building Application for proposed conversion of coach house to a 2 bedroom house

Maxs 56 High Street Yeadon Leeds LS19 7PP

REF : 12/02159/CA

Conservation Area Application to demolish toilet block

Maxs 56 High Street Yeadon Leeds LS19 7PP

REF : 12/02158/FU

Single storey rear extension to takeaway

Just before Christmas I discovered a little known meeting for the users of Yeadon Tarn. They meet twice a year to discuss issues that the users have with Leeds City Council.

Groups represented include :

Leeds Sailing and Activity Centre (Leeds City Council)

Aireborough and District Angling Club

Leeds and Bradford Model Boat Club

Yeadon Sailing Club

The main topics covered were the Health and Safety aspects of water quality. One thing I learnt is one potential problem for the water quality is Canada Goose excrement. This can cause problems with campylobactor as well as other water bourne diseases.

There is to be an open day (Push the Boat Out) on the Tarn on July 21st where members of the public can come along and try to sail a yacht, there will be other events during the day to celebrate the Olympics.

Aireborough Family of Schools Co-Operative Learning Trust

As governor of Rufford Park school I was asked to attend a meeting regarding the above.

Following two initial fact-finding meetings and exploratory discussions, Headteachers of the 12 schools which comprise the ‘Aireborough Extended Services Family’  have recommended that Governors give consideration to a consultation process, for the schools to align themselves as a Co-Operative Trust for the Aireborough Community.

This process will require opportunities for fact-finding and questioning in a transparent process.

During the Spring Term, Headteachers of 12 of the 14 schools, which comprise the Aireborough Extended Services Cluster met to have exploratory discussions around the possibilities of forging even stronger links between us by considering Trust Arrangements. The two Catholic Faith Schools were also invited to attend the meeting and have been kept fully informed of our discussions. It is likely, however, that the Diocese will have alternative arrangements for their schools.

Here is the vision that we were invited to consider…

Vision for an ‘Aireborough Learning Community’

We believe that it is our moral purpose to work as a Learning Community within Aireborough to ensure the best outcomes for all of our pupils. Through collaboration and by sharing ‘best practice’, we aim to ensure positive life-chances for all pupils within our schools.

We believe in promoting  a consistent set of values based on equality, fairness and respect, by promoting the principles of success for all and the worth of lifelong learning.

We aim for our pupils to appreciate and value the diversity of everyone within our ‘Learning Community’ and create strong and positive relationships within our schools and for the Aireborough Community which we serve.

Rationale:

1)    A greater and more transparent formalised accountability to each other as partner schools will serve the drive to improve standards across the ‘Family of Schools’

2)    A strong collaboration already exists between all partner schools within the Extended Services Family. This collaboration is founded upon formal commissioning of wrap-around services. A more formal collaboration will extend the opportunities available to all pupils served by schools within this community  and will further increase our ability to commission services.

3)    The Trust arrangements will facilitate a sharing of expertise around Teaching & Learning  and will foster school to school support for School Improvement, with greater access to both generic and targeted Staff Development.

4)    By establishing formal Trust arrangements, economies of scale will bring financial gain to individual schools. The joint commissioning of services will lead to savings on Service Level Agreement Costs e.g. HR support. Greater value for money will be delivered across a range of cost centres. In addition, there will be an opportunity for savings to be made by joint appointments, which will enhance staffing levels in a way that individual schools might not be able to afford.

5)    There will be even better opportunities to structure common approaches to learning, which will have a direct impact on the outcomes for children across the locality and, in particular to build upon the already successful Transition arrangements.

6)    Each school will actively align itself with the group, but will retain its own individual identity, its own Governing Body and control of its own budget.

The process leading up to  a decision regarding consultation to establish Formal Trust Arrangements for the Aireborough Community involves meetings in May, June and July

just before the elections I met with some residents of Whitestone Crescent in Yeadon, who a few years ago had complained that the kerb outside their house had been damaged by bin men. I had managed to get bollards put their to prevent further damage, however the kerb remained collapsed. I chased highways a few times, and today their agreed to reinstate the kerb, as I arrived to let the residents know the workmen were just leaving having rebuilt the kerb. The job should be finished tomorrow with tarmac filling in the gutter.

I was contacted today by someone in Yeadon would had rung up to get their bulky waste collected by the council and was given a date of July 12th!!!! That is almost two months away, in the meantime they will have to store the items awaiting collection.

I rang up to see what could be done only to discover that Bulky waste collections have been suspended this month, and until they are re-instated on June 7th, no bookings are being taken so when are finally able to book a collection who knows how much longer you will have to wait.

Not only do I find this unacceptable, and it could lead to fly-tipping if residents cant wait two months or more to get rid of bulky items. What also I find unacceptable is that this fact has been kept a secret from councillors. We have not been advised of this break in service.

I am receiving more and more complaints in my ward about refuse collection failure today a resident wrote to me from Newall Close in Otley to say that

The green bins for this address and others have been emptied 2 since Christmas. I have had numerous phone conversations and a fair amount of e-mails exchanges with the refusecollection dept and Enviromental Services about this subject, I have had no satisfactory answers and still no bin collection.

Newall Close is a complex of 48 housing association flats for people over the age of 55 yrs. As green bins are a political idea to save the planet for the children of today, this problem hardly affects us, as we will all be dead or like Leeds City Council past caring about the future. I have circulated the apartments saying stop using the green bins (as they are full and overflowing) put all their  rubbish in the black bins

I have contacted Envionmental services myself and demanded answers, I find this totally unacceptable, we are trying to increase recycling. I can understand the odd failure, but when it is highlighted and no action is taken then something is clearly going wrong with the system