The 'vibrant but neglected' Leeds suburb plagued by rodents, rubbish and homelessness
Locals spoke of their concerns
A ‘vibrant but neglected’ suburb in Leeds needs improving, say locals, who’ve spoken about litter, rats and traffic jams.
Leeds City Council is launching a scheme to improve all 33 wards in the city called ‘Love Leeds’. It aims to bring each community together to target issues facing each ward.
Student hive Headingley and Hyde Park has been chosen as the second ward in the scheme which aims to harness “community and volunteer action”. Examples of possible improvements could be intensive environmental clean-ups, weeding, cleaning, and graffiti removal.
The scheme also aims to help with improving highways, removing rubbish, work to tackle and prevent fly-tipping, clearing and cleaning community housing and health support and advice, such as pop-up blood pressure checks and health outreach work.
The programme will follow a rolling operating model, starting with engagement and consultation with local groups, stakeholders and residents in a ward to listen, understand and identify priorities for improvement.
Using a range of resident drop-ins and workshops, pop-up listening and engagement sessions and working closely with community, volunteer and third sector groups, the aim is to provide local opportunities for people to have a much stronger voice in how the area in which they live is looked after and improved.
'Vibrant but neglected'
Hyde Park barista Isabele Edain, 27, who works at Coffee on The Crescent, by Hyde Park Corner, has said she feels the area receives a “lack of attention” and is worried that mounting litter has an adverse effect on animals in Woodhouse Moor.
Isabele said: “It’s got a lot going for it but it just feels very uncared for. It’s really vibrant and there’s loads of history here, but it’s really neglected. Its feels like because it’s an area with lots of students, that no one gives a s***, basically.”
She added: “The litter. There seems to be a complete lack of attention to looking after the wildlife here and the green spaces. Woodhouse Moor is always full of litter. There’s people who ride around on motorbikes and use the paths, like every day, and no one ever seems to do anything. Drivers in general, there seems to be a lot of very dangerous driving around Hyde Park.”
Further along the busy corner, Hyde Park restaurant owner Endrion Pepa, 40, has said the litter is so bad he sees “disgusting” rats almost every day. He owns Mistreci which he opened a couple months ago.
Endrion said: “With the rubbish bins, most of them are full, so some people leave their bags on the ground. So the rats are around. I see them almost every day. It’s disgusting.”
The 40-year-old father-of-two has said parking in the area needs improvement, stating it was directly affecting his footfall. He thinks some of the surrounding roads should have limits introduced as cars have been left parked there for long period of time.
Endrion said: “I think the main problem now on the roads. There’s a problem with parking. Customers don’t know where to park their cars. The parking spaces are limited. There are so many road works.”
His wife Megi Marina added: “Sometimes customers come and they have nowhere to park so they leave.”
Sales assistant Corben Marshall, 21, who works at I Blaze Vape Leeds, also feels the area is neglected with rubbish with lots of rodents in the area. He adds that vagrancy has become out of hand.
Corben said: “The homelessness is quite bad. There’s a lot of beggars around. Everyday I always see them pestering students and they’re literally going to car windows. It gets to a point.
He thinks the bins need to be made more secure. Corben said: “There’s hundreds of bins with all the shops around. So, you see rats all the time.”
Shop sales assistant Yohannes Desta, 46, works at Hyde Park Convenience Store. He feels there should be more plants to make Woodhouse Lane, which runs parallel to Woodhouse Moor, should have more plants.
Yohannes said: “The road has been improved since last year but the work has been creating traffic jams in the morning. An improvement I suggest is cleaning, there is rubbish from the restaurants and shops but there is no regular pick up of this rubbish.
“The other improvement I suggest is more planting in the park area, like hedges or trees by the roadside. It’s already quite green but more plants would improve the area because a green environment is always attractive.”
Leeds City Council executive member for environment Councillor James Gibson said: "Love Leeds is part of a city-wide approach to strengthening neighbourhoods by working differently with residents, local organisations, businesses and partners. Headingley and Hyde Park are at an early stage of the programme and conversations with residents are already helping us to build a picture of the issues that matter most, from environmental concerns and public spaces to how people experience the area day to day.
"Our ambition is to bring people together around a shared vision for their community and support lasting improvements that make neighbourhoods cleaner, greener, safer and more welcoming places for everyone and we would urge local people to feel like they can get involved."
Council services directly involved include Housing Leeds, parks and greenspace, highways, Leeds Anti-Social Behaviour Team (LASBT), public health, Active Leeds, community hubs, waste management, jobs and skills and volunteering. Partners include West Yorkshire Police and third sector organisations.