Latest Leeds Council Update

Windy Weather

The latest Leeds update is below:  

Connecting Leeds

  • Rail users are being encouraged to take note of changes to services over the coming weeks and months as part of Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) improvement works. Every weekday from Monday 28th October to Friday 22nd November, major improvement works will take place on the line between Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Leeds. You can also find some details about the closures and impacted services at the TRU website.
  • Share your thoughts on plans to better connect walking and cycling routes for shorter journeys to school, local shops and the centre of Crossgates. The plans aim to improve accessibility around Barwick Road, Swardale Green, Swarcliffe, and Manston and the Poole Estate. Find out more and have your say by Sunday 27th October.

Speed Indicator Device

The council's Speed Indicator Devices is available to borrow by community groups concerned about traffic speed on local roads. Help support Vision Zero, the council's ambition to eliminate serious road injuries by 2040, and create safer spaces for walking, cycling, and wheeling in your local community. If your group would like to borrow our S.I.D. or you want more information, contact [email protected] or visit the council's website here.

Get Winter Strong campaign launched

The UK Health Security Agency, Department for Health and Social Care, and NHS England on 7th October launched the Get Winter Strong campaign, which will run for 10 weeks, to help reduce the impact of winter viruses on those most a risk, as well as ease NHS winter pressures. The campaign urges those eligible to get their flu and Covid-19 vaccinations when invited, ahead of winter, targeting those at greatest risk and for the first time will encourage pregnant women to also get their respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and whooping cough vaccination. Eligible people in England can now book their flu and COVID-19 vaccinations through the NHS. For their RSV jab, pregnant women and older adults should speak to their maternity service or GP practice to arrange it.

Storm Lilian

Members will recall that in the summer Storm Lilian was the 12th named storm in the Met Office’s 2023/24 storm season and will be fully aware that Leeds was significantly impacted. The recovery from Storm Lilian remains a major challenge for the Forestry team, with our Storm Lilian incident log currently including 430 enquiries. On the day of the storm, the authority dealt with over 1000 phone calls and council officers have prioritised visiting damaged trees subsequent to the storm. As a consequence of Lilian, there has been an increase in identified operational works and there are approximately 260 outstanding jobs, ranging from emergency work with a short timeframe for completion, to work that will be undertaken in the next six months. At this point in time, our contractors are working at full capacity, meaning completion time for planned and responsive work is longer than would normally be the case. As a result of the storm there continues to be a slower turnaround in response to Member enquiries to the forestry team and Members' continued patience is very much appreciated.     

 Women’s Night Safe Space Big Give Campaign, 10th - 17th October

The Women’s Night Safe Space is an essential service that supports women and girls in Leeds City Centre every weekend, providing a safe space for women who are feeling unsafe, unwell, or in need of help or support. They are currently fundraising to support and continue their work. Any money raised between midday 10th and midday 17th October will be match-funded by The Big Give, meaning any donation makes twice the impact. Could you give 1 to help save the Women’s Night Safe Space? Head to the fundraising page here. You can find out more about the vital service that the Women’s Night Safe Space provides here. 

Local developments

 

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