THE SNOWMAN
I met Dave and Ellie on the Moor yesterday. It had been snowing and they’d just finished building a snowman. I reckon it’s the best snowman I’ve ever seen.
PATHETIC PLEA FROM WOODHOUSE
(photo courtesy of The Thoresby Society)
Ordnance survey maps give the name “Cannon Walk” to the path that runs from the Victoria Memorial to the former Grammar School. The reason for the name is supplied by “The Official Handbook to The Public Parks of Leeds and Kirkstall Abbey” written by Parks Superintendent Arthur J Allsop and published in 1906 :
From Woodhouse Lane to the Grammar School there is a pleasant path along the top of the Moor, banked on the left by a shrubbery in which there are circular bays of grass for the sheltered accommodation of flower beds. In the centre, one of these bays is ornamented by two 36-pounders of the old smooth-bore muzzle-loading type, mounted on ship’s carriages. These are relics of the fall of Sebastopol, and now look over their crenelated parapet in eloquent silence. When they were publicly placed on the Moor in 1857 no less than 50,000 persons were present.
The above photo shows the cannon isolated behind the “crenelated parapet”. In this position, the guns were neglected, and over time, their carriages fell into disrepair. This prompted a concerned resident to write to the Yorkshire Evening Post. His letter was published on 21st October 1911 :
PATHETIC PLEA FROM WOODHOUSE
Sir, – We the cannons on Woodhouse Moor, have fallen on sad and bitter days. We are neglected and forgotten. Will someone help us, or does nobody care ?
How different from the days of long ago, when we were proudly glistening in the sunshine and guarding the fort of distant Sebastopol; we didn’t stand on the wet sod and have a coat of dirty drab paint then !
Now we are placed behind a monstrosity in stonework. Goodness knows what it represents. Surely it is not a feeble imitation of a fort ? For years we have stood on the damp earth, and the woodwork of our carriages has become rotten and fallen to pieces, causing one of us to fall to the ground, the other having to be propped up under the muzzle.
In our early days on the Moor, we were proudly admired – a powder waggon, long since gone, stood in the centre then – and looked upon as grand relics of British valour. Do let us be moved from this horrid position, given suitable carriages, and placed on a basement of concrete or flags on the level – Yours etc.,
THE RUSSIAN GUNS
The plea from “the guns” was heard, and the guns were moved, as the following article from the Yorkshire Evening Post of the 28th December 1911 describes:
NEW CARRIAGES AND A NEW POSITION FOR OLD RELICS
A fresh resting place has been found for the two old Russian cannon on Woodhouse Moor, Leeds. For many years they occupied a site close to the reservoir, but in consequence of the continued exposure to the weather the wooden carriages became completely rotten, and recently, the cannon had to be taken down.
In this out of the way spot they went unnoticed, so the Parks Committee decided to place them in a more prominent position when the new carriages were ready.
The site chosen is in the middle of the wide walk at the main entrance near the police-station, a circular flower-bed having been cleared, and the ground concreted. The hoisting of the historic relics into position has been watched with curious interest by large crowds these last two days.
The large iron shell removed from Templenewsam some few years ago has also been placed on this spot.
The photo below shows the guns in their new location. They remained in this position until they were taken away to be melted down as part of the war effort.
INWAC’S BROKEN PROMISE
When Leeds University purchased the former Grammar School site, it’s clear it did so with the intention of building on the cricket field that formed part of the site. The fact that the cricket field had Protected Playing Pitch status in the Unitary Development Plan, was only a temporary obstacle. To get round the problem, they offered the council a bribe. They said that in exchange for planning permission, they’d give the council £255,000 to spend on replacement sports facilities on Woodhouse Moor. These were to include two mini soccer pitches and a Multi Use Games Area or MUGA on the site of the tennis courts near Hyde Park Corner. The council held all the cards. It just had to say no. Instead, in exchange for a paltry £255,000, the council agreed to the university’s proposals. And so the community lost the Protected Playing Pitch and in return gained the threat of formal sports facilities on the open parkland of Woodhouse Moor. All of this was agreed without any consultation with local people.
Friends of Woodhouse Moor raised the issue at a meeting of INWAC that took place on the 13th December 2007. In response, the councillors passed the following resolution :
That in respect of the multi use games area proposed close to Hyde Park Corner, North West Area Management be requested to seek clarification on the proposals, and to ensure that public consultation was carried out on any such proposal
Following the meeting, Lib Dem Councillor Penny Ewens was in touch with senior planning officer Paul Gough by telephone. Here’s an extract from an email he sent her immediately afterwards :
Further to our telephone conversation, I thought I would drop you a line to let you know my thoughts on the suggestion that the proposed MUGA should be subject to further public consultation. Basically my view is that further consultation is unnecessary and would delay what is a very worthwhile project on a site which is in need of upgrading….I think that if we start a debate on the principle of the development it could seriously embarrass the Council, mislead the local community and get us into a legal minefield. If we do not carry out this project, all it would take is one person to make a legal challenge and we would be in trouble….There is no need to prevaricate over this and, in my view, we should proceed to the implementation stage. I hope this is helpful advice.
Mr Gough says that there’s no need for “further public consultation”. The fact is that there’s been no public consultation. And so, despite the promise that was made to local people by Lib Dem councillors in December 2007, construction work on the MUGA (pictures below) began a few days ago.
References
THE GERMAN OCCUPATION OF WOODHOUSE MOOR
Should you ever take a walk round the German Market – I won’t say “German Christmas Market” since it’s packed up and gone long before Christmas has even begun – spare a thought for the long suffering people of Hyde Park and Woodhouse. They are the unsung heroes of the German Market. You see, for two months of every year, part of Woodhouse Moor is turned into a container park to house the freight containers and cranes that are required to bring the market here and then erect it. (see photo below)
We’ve Councillor John Procter from Wetherby and ineffective Lib Dem local councillors to thank for this annual addition to the Moor. Any other city would arrange for the unsightly containers to be stored in a council yard. Only Leeds City Council would dump them on a park in a deprived inner city area where they can be viewed by the retired residents of the Harrison Potter Home and everyone who passes by on Woodhouse Lane.
THE TRIALS OF WOODHOUSE MOOR
At a recent meeting of the Scrutiny Board, Councillor John Procter, the Conservative councillor from Wetherby who’s in charge of Parks and Countryside, declared that Woodhouse Moor is a wonderful resource for Leeds University. The truth of his words were borne out for me this morning when I saw a large truck with a trailer parked completely blocking one of the park’s paths. The trailer had been used to sell food and drink to people who’d been participating in the “Hyde Park” Time Trials, a weekly running event organised by Leeds University. Even though it’s annoying to see such blatant disregard for other park users, it has to be said that Councillor Procter and the university are inflicting far worse trials than this on Woodhouse Moor.
THE VIEW FROM MONUMENT MOOR JUST GOT WORSE AND IS LIKELY TO GET WORSE STILL IF LEEDS UNIVERSITY GETS ITS WAY
The above photo was taken in late October and is looking east from Monument Moor. It shows the trees in front of the university’s St Mark’s flats. The photo below was taken this morning and shows the same view immediately after workmen had cut the trees down. If you look closely, you can see their vehicles and equipment. The noise their equipment was making could be heard from the main part of the Moor. I felt sorry for anyone in the flats who was trying to study or rest, and for the retired residents of the Harrison Potter Home. Leeds University is definitely not a considerate neighbour.
The university recently presented a proposal to replace St Mark’s flats with a larger complex of flats. So the question’s got to be, “Why cut the trees down now?” Could it be that the university regards the grant of planning permission as a foregone conclusion ? If the university does get planning permission, then heaven help this part of Woodhouse, for what they propose is truly awful.
DUAL CARRIAGEWAY AHEAD
This extensive area of tarmac may look like the start of a dual carriageway, but is actually the result of work carried out recently on Woodhouse Moor by Parks and Countryside. The path on the left of the photo has been added to provide a more convenient route for people using the park as a shortcut. Apparently, Parks and Countryside has forgotten that Woodhouse Moor is a park, not a shortcut. Its avenues were laid out in the 1870s not to provide the quickest route from A to B, but to provide pleasant strolls. Why should that carefully worked out layout be destroyed now for the sake of people who just use the park as a convenient short cut. If people are spoiling the grass by cutting across it, then far better to to plant bushes to deter them, or restore the low wire hoop fencing that used to edge all the paths on the Moor.
Parks and Countryside are crazy to be using their limited resources in this way, building unnecessary new paths which spoil the park’s appearance, especially when there are existing paths which need attention, like the badly rutted example pictured below.
