The meeting of the Outer North East Community Committee included discussion of a range of funding applications for local projects, updates from several council departments on the work they have been doing in the area and a report from West Yorkshire Police. The Police report detailed crime statistics for the area and what steps the police were taking in response, in particular to two ‘public priorities’, road safety and antisocial behaviour.

Policing

The report from West Yorkshire Police¹ details what the ‘public priorities’ and ‘police priorities’ are for each of the three wards covered by the Outer North East Community Committee; Alwoodley, Harewood and Wetherby. The single public priority identified for Alwoodley was antisocial behaviour at the Moor Allerton Centre, “caused by off-road motor cycles, quads and cars”. In response the police reported they had been “carrying out regular patrols of the area and engaging with local businesses to provide support”. The public priorities in Harewood were listed as speeding throughout the ward and in Wetherby, speeding and antisocial behaviour. The police priorities for Alwoodley were listed as residential burglary in the area north of the Leeds outer ring road and the police priorities for Harewood were listed as residential burglary, rural burglary and fraud. The police priorities for Wetherby were listed as residential burglary in Wetherby, Boston Spa, Clifford and Bramham, commercial burglaries in Thorpe Arch and fraud.

Finance Report

The meeting will include consideration of a report on the Outer North East Community Committee finances, with the remaining Wellbeing budget balance reported as £70,566.94, the remaining Youth Activity Fund balance reported as £29,342.43 and the remaining Capital budget reported as £26,886.05. The report asks the committee to approve funding for several projects.

Wellbeing Fund

The following projects which have applied to the Wellbeing Fund will be considered for approval:

• West Yorkshire Police ONE Road Safety 2024/25 - £753.75 for both Alwoodley and Wetherby Wards. These funds will provide 90 hours of additional policing in each ward, in addition to the 90 hours already agreed in July for Harewood, “for key hotspots and issues identified through intelligence”.
• West Yorkshire Police ONE Burglary Prevention 2024/25 - £737 each for Alwoodley and Wetherby Wards and £2,948 for Harewood. These funds will provide 88 hours of additional policing in Alwoodley and Wetherby and 264 hours in Harewood, to be used to “target and disrupt criminal activity”.
• Barwick in Elmet Village Hall Floor - £5,000 towards the cost of replacing the floor at the village hall in Barwick-in-Elmet.
• St Barnabus Roof - £4,000 towards the cost of a new roof for St Barnabus Church Hall.
• Wetherby Development Fund - £5,000 “towards providing environmental projects and improvements”.
• Alwoodley Grit Bins - £3,000 to fund grit bins and grit bin refills in Alwoodley during winter 2024/25.

Youth Activities Fund

The following projects which have applied to the Youth Activities Fund will be considered for approval:

• Moortown West Play Scheme 2024-25 - £3,960
• Tempo FM Radio Academy - £3,716.26

Community Committee Update Report

A report was prepared to update the committee on the work of several council departments in the Outer North East area.

Climate, Energy and Green Space

Storm Damage

The report describes the damage caused by Storm Lilian in August 2024, which caused damage throughout the city, with 32 reports in the Outer North East area. This has created a backlog in tree work, with the report noting that: “Whilst the storm was back in August it has generated months’ worth of work for the in-house team and external partners”. The report also notes that Storms Ashley and Bert caused a small number of incidents.

Parks and Open Spaces

The report provides an update on several parks and open spaces in the area:

• Cranmer Bank. The council is continuing to talk to the local community about improvements to the play area.
• Scholes. Work to build a new play area near to the library is underway and expected to finish by the end of November 2024.
• Thorner. Drainage issues at Miry Carr (Public Footpath No. 19) are ongoing and will be addressed when football pitches are installed.
• Millennium Fields. A consultation on improvements to the field has now closed. 600 responses were received and will be reported to the council.

Housing Leeds

Fuel Vouchers

The report describes a scheme² intended to help council tenants with the cost of fuel, funded by PH Jones Gas Contractors. £200,000 will be distributed in £49 fuel vouchers. Tenants are eligible if they have a pre-payment meter and no debt to their energy provider.

Evictions

The report notes that no eviction notices will be served between 16 December 2024 and the new year.

Public Health

A report from Public Health was provided to the committee.

Loan Sharks

The report highlights the work of the England Illegal Money Lending Team who investigate and prosecute loan sharks. It says that in the first six months of 2024 the team nationally “supported over 32,000 people, successfully prosecuted 424 loan sharks (leading to total jail terms of over 606 years) and written off at least £91.3 million of illegal debt”. The report also notes that two suspected loan sharks have been arrested recently in Leeds.

Community Mental Health Transformation

The report provides an update on the rollout of a new model for community mental health care, which will include “new community teams made up of people from different health, social and voluntary sector organisations”. The new model had been piloted in three areas of the city and the report notes that “from February 2025, parts of the new model will roll out citywide”.