Agenda item

The Report of the Chief Officer Communities updates the Inner West Community Committee on the work being undertaken within the New Wortley Priority Neighbourhood and the ‘Big Asks’ that have been put forward to the Neighbourhood Improvement Board, in relation to improving this area.

(Report attached)

The report of the Chief Officer Communities updated the Inner West Community Committee on the work being undertaken within the New Wortley Priority Neighbourhood and the ‘Big Asks’ that have been put forward to the Neighbourhood Improvement Board, in relation to improving this area.

In attendance for this item were:

·  Stuart Byrne – Localities Programme Manager

·  Rachel Marshall – Localities Manager

The Members of the Inner West Community Committee were shown a presentation which provided information on the work that has taken place in the New Wortley area.

Members were informed of the following points:

·  It was recognised that the New Wortley area had a number of issues including vandalism, fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour;

·  A strategic framework was set up which focussed on 4 key strands which were;

o  Cleaner and greener spaces,

o  Children and Young People,

o  Employment, skills and welfare,

o  Health and Wellbeing.

·  It was recognised that Wellington Stores had become a focal point for a number of the issues in the area including drugs and anti-social behaviour. A closure order for the site was put in place and the site was demolished;

·  Anti-social behaviour in the area had dropped by 65% although there were still some issues to be addressed;

·  A number of activities have been developed in the area for the residents including wellbeing weekends where people can engage in healthy options activities such as learning about healthy foods, exercise, with the introduction of a men’s walking group;

·  Produced a Local Services Handbook to be handed out to each tenant. This is not just for the residents of New Wortley but also for the wider West Leeds area;

·  The Armley Volunteer Hub was the 5^th busiest in Leeds, with 1000 formal referrals, the work of the hub is continuing in the second lockdown. However, there has been an increase in mental health issues and the hub has now employed a Mental Health Support Worker. The hub has also secured funding for a Communities of Interest Worker to work with people from the diverse community;

·  The Children and Young People’s Support Worker has developed a good working relationship with the schools in the area and are working towards Healthy Holiday Activities;

·  New Wortley had been the pathfinder for this type of work and this has now been mirrored across the city in other priority neighbourhoods;

·  Work is progressing with partner agencies creating better outcomes for the area. There has also been engagement with the community, however, it was noted that this has been limited this year due to Covid restrictions;

·  There is a lack of third sector partners which has placed a pressure on the New Wortley Community Centre who have been trying to take on as many projects as possible, but are struggling due to resource issues;

·  Lack of funds for investment around developments which would have drawn on Sector 106 money;

·  As part of the ‘Big Ask’ a plan had been developed to improve connectivity, it is hoped that the remodelling of the Gyratory will improve the infrastructure in this area. The team were also looking at investment to provide a play area on Jailey Fields for young people and making the area safe and free from drugs.

Members’ discussions included:

·  Improved education for this area;

·  Capital funding and CIL funding for the area;

·  A positive report with innovative activities and practices with ideas that could be rolled out across the West Leeds area;

·  The Young People’s Board;

·  Traffic and infrastructure issues in the area.

Members of Inner West suggested a meeting with Cllr Coupar, the Executive Member for Communities. The Chair offered to arrange a meeting in relation to issues raised in the meeting, especially in relation to infrastructure in and around New Wortley.

RESOLVED – To note the Content of the report.

Cllr Illingworth joined the meeting during in this item.