PHOTOS MY NEIGHBOUR TOOK THIS MORNING
Building harmonious relationships on the Moor.
I would like to stress that I am writing this guest post in an individual capacity and my views in no way necessarily represent those of any organisation I am a member of; they are purely individual views.
The debate over the council’s proposals to build a designated barbecue area on Woodhouse Moor has been contentious to say the least. On the one side local residents have raised concerns about the damage the construction of this area will do to the Moor and on the other side you have the council and people like myself who have argued that the proposals are the best practicable way to manage barbecues on the Moor and, of course, the people who want to use the Moor to have barbecues on. It is worth saying that the debate has exposed a tension at the heart of our community between permanent residents who feel ignored and temporary residents, ie, students who live here in a fair concentration. It is my view that establishing harmony between the two groups is one of the key challenges facing this community.
Turning to the proposals in detail; it has often been pointed out to me that there are by-laws in place which prohibit barbecues on the Moor and that preventing them is simply a matter of enforcing the existing by-laws. Councillor Martin Hamilton, speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post on May 20th, raises a valid point when he questions whether creating a situation where the police will have to be involved is the most productive use of their time. One of the concerns has to be that so much time and effort would be spent enforcing the barbecue ban that serious anti-social behaviour would slip under the radar.
Also, since there has been a serious increase in demand for barbecues on the Moor there has to be questions asked over where the people who would have had barbecues on the Moor would then go. Shifting the problem around the place is not a solution and we do have to address the fact that some people clearly do want this; so, a question I do have to put to opponents is how would you address this? Concerns about the environmental impact of disposable barbecues are points well made but it is my view that a properly designated area could and should go hand-in-hand with providing raw materials and guidance for people to actually construct a rudimentary (but still effective) eco-friendly barbecue which can be effectively done with a few bricks; a grill you can find in any kitchen and the right charcoal. Here perhaps the proposals need to show greater imagination than just whacking concrete slabs down.
The same article points out that Woodhouse Moor has been used for “everything from hare-coursing and horse racing to a stage for political rallies and public demonstrations”. So, this isn’t exactly a new controversy but a re-casting of the tensions that exist over Woodhouse Moor itself and doubtless other green spaces across the country. Bill McKinnon speaking in the piece flags up the recent residents meeting which was attended by “over 100 residents, people who consider the Moor part of their home”. However, the Moor is not, properly speaking part of anybodies home; it is a public space which we all share, it is too their credit that people feel this strongly about something that is an important part of this community but nonetheless the facts remain as above.
Mr McKinnion is right when he says that if a designated area was created there would still be a question of enforcement but quite simply I would say restriction is always easier to enforce than prohibition. He is also right to raise the issue of ensuring the underground drainage is not damaged and let my emphasise that I am not here to defend the consultation not reaching everybody or any other problems that have been had. Looping-the-loop somewhat to the point I started off by making this does point to the need for new mechanisms to establish working relations between the residents who live around the Moor and the people who visit the Moor and want to enjoy it in a responsible way.
At the moment where the different interested groups come together tends to be the Area Committee; however, it is my view that this organisation has too broad a remit to deal effectively with this very specific issue which needs to see the local residents; people who work to preserve the Moor, and yes, representatives of the student community working together along with our local elected representatives. Therefore, I think the Area Committee should devolve this issue down to a sub-committee which reports to it and addresses issues like this directly.
BEHIND THE MASK
It’s customary when writing to a newspaper, to supply an address. Many editors will refuse to publish your letter if you don’t. It’s about establishing your credentials as a real person, rather like the purpose of the electoral register. So it was highly significant that in his recent letter to the YEP, Darrell Goodliffe signed off as “Local Resident” rather than supplying an address (Readers’ Letters 7.5.09). Clearly for Mr Goodliffe, establishing in readers’ minds that here was a local resident who actually supports the barbeque proposal, was far more important than minor details like where he actually lives.
What’s not customary when writing to a newspaper is to state your political allegiance, unless of course you’re an active party member writing about an issue your party is deeply involved with. Under those circumstances, to deny your readers the benefit of that knowledge, might seem to some like a deception. I can understand though why someone would be tempted to do it. By stating your political allegiance, you run the risk that people might say “Well, he would say that, wouldn’t he”. Which is precisely what people have been saying since learning that Darrel Goodliffe is a Lib Dem activist.
(photo courtesy of Thomas Hawk)
Read all about it !
Martin Staniforth has had a letter published in today’s Yorkshire Evening Post criticising the slanted nature of the barbeque consultation. In it he makes clear that it’s been targeted at students and designed to elicit a “yes” to the question “Do you want to barbeque on Woodhouse Moor?”. He calls for further drop-ins that are accessible to local people. Martin is a local resident and chair of North Hyde Park Neighbourhood Association, our longest established community association. You can read his letter by clicking on the words above highlighted in green. Thanks Martin for speaking out on our behalf.
The morning after
Woodhouse Moor was packed with people yesterday afternoon enjoying the glorious sunshine. Unfortunately, many of them never bothered to take their litter home with them, which is why the park looked such a mess this morning. 
Leeds employs people known as “Civil Enforcement Officers” to ensure that the city is kept neat and tidy. They have the power to issue on the spot £75 fixed penalty notices to anyone dropping litter. A friend of mine was fined a couple of years ago by one of these people for dropping a cigarette butt in the city centre. And there’s the problem. These enforcement officers don’t appear to operate in Hyde Park and Woodhouse ward. If they do, I’ve never seen one. Why is it that the rules that apply to other parts of the city don’t apply here ?
There were five barbeques burning yesterday afternoon, and this morning I took this photo showing the damage caused by one of them.
I find it amazing that these dangerous contraptions are freely available in supermarkets and corner shops. There’s no age limit restricting their sale. Last year I heard at work that someone’s child had stood on one. She lost all sensation in the sole of her foot because of nerve damage.
Things to come ?
I suppose I should be writing to the Times, for today I spotted my first barbeque of 2009 on Woodhouse Moor (see photo below). There were five actually. And that’s the problem. For unlike nightingales, barbeques are a very common species in these parts, and they’re likely to become even more so, if Leeds City Council is able to persuade students to vote for barbeque areas on Woodhouse Moor.
Also on the Moor this afternoon, was a large police van with about five or six policemen and women inside. My companion went up to one of the policemen, and asked him to tell the barbeque-ers to desist. But he refused, repeating over and over again, “It’s what students do.” It left me wondering what the police van was doing on the Moor. It also left me wondering why I pay council tax. Can anyone suggest a reason why that police van was on the Moor ?
Directions to the Student Union Building
To get to the Student Union Building by foot from Hyde Park, walk along Moorland Road until you come to the junction with Clarendon Road i.e the junction where the former Grammar School is located. Then cross Clarendon Road and continue on down University Road. Take your first right onto Lyddon Terrace and then your first left onto Lifton Place. Continue on down until you come to a large red brick building on your right. That building is the Student Union Building. The first of the two barbeque consultations is to be held on the second floor of the Student Union Building in Meeting Room 2 of ARC. ARC stands for Activities Resouce Centre.
On the above map, the Student Union Building is coloured red, the former Grammar School is coloured orange, and the Parkinson Building (the large Portland stone building with the clock tower) is coloured purple.
Just to remind you, the drop-in session is to be held from 5pm to 7pm this Friday, the 20th March.
Barbeque areas are being proposed for Woodhouse Moor
In response to the clamour of protests from local residents about last year’s mayhem on Woodhouse Moor, when trees and benches were burnt in bonfires, as both the police and Leeds City Council failed to enforce the no-barbeque byelaw, the council has responded – not by taking steps to enforce the byelaw, but by first getting the byelaws changed to make barbeque areas possible in principle, and now by proposing barbeque areas on Woodhouse Moor. There’s to be consultation, but apparently, it’s not aimed at local residents. There are to be two consultation events :
Friday 20th March, 5pm – 7pm at Leeds University Student Union Meeting Room 2 (upstairs in the ARC).
Thursday 26th March, 3pm – 7pm in the Bowls Pavilion, Woodhouse Moor.
Clearly the views of local residents don’t matter to our councillors, and neither does the waste of public resources given that between the 1st May and the 10th June 2008, the fire brigade was called out to Woodhouse Moor 29 times to extinguish fires. This contrasts with just three call-outs to Roundhay Park in the same period.
Byelaws changed to allow barbeques and unauthorised parking in our parks
On the 17th December 2008, central government bureaucrats gave their approval to Leeds City Councils’ application to change the city’s byelaws to allow unauthorised parking and barbeque areas in the city’s parks. Local residents had asked the Department for Communities and Local Government to reject the proposals on the grounds that Leeds City Council had failed to consult. But instead, the department chose to accept Leeds City Council’s assurance that consultation had taken place. I have since learnt that Leeds City Council consulted just six bodies : The National Council for Metal Detecting, South Leeds Aero Modelling Society, British Model Flying Association, The Leeds Society for Deaf and Blind People, Access Committee for Leeds, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
No response was received from any of these organisations. This is hardly surprising since whilst the proposed changes will have a big impact on local residents, they will have no effect whatsoever on the people represented by these organisations.