Seasons Greetings!

Harewood Parish Council sends best wishes for the festive season to everyone residing in the civil Parish.  The year 2020 has been a difficult one for us all since the onset of the Covid crisis in March.  Families and friends have been apart and businesses, small and large, have been hit financially. We are not out of the woods yet but at least we can look forward to a New Year and the hope that, as roll-out of the vaccines gets underway, 2021 will be better.

Parish Councillor Vacancies

Harewood Parish Council is a small, friendly Council, made up of 9 Councillors.  Two serve the village of Harewood and outlying hamlets and 7 represent the Wigton Moor area, where the majority of Harewood civil parish residents are living.  Currently 3 of the Wigton seats are vacant. No proposals for candidates to contest the seats have been received, so no by-election will be held, and we are now authorised to co-opt members to the Council.

If you have the time and motivation to get involved in the work of the Parish Council we would love to hear from you.  You must be over 18 years of age and live within (or within 3 miles of) the Parish Boundary. You can find a plan showing the extent of Harewood Parish here: Interactive map of Harewood.

Due to the Covid pandemic and government restrictions on meetings, all business is being conducted by email and remote online meetings. Co-opted councillors would need the necessary IT skills and equipment in order to participate fully.

Please email Dr Kate Hill, Chair of Harewood Parish Council at chair@harewoodparishcouncil.gov.uk if you would like to discuss becoming a member of the Council. We would love to hear from you!

Remembering the fallen

Plans to hold our usual service of remembrance were changed by the second lockdown imposed to tackle the Corona virus. Instead, on Sunday 8th of November, Council members observed the two minutes silence  at the village War Memorial and a wreath was laid by Cllr Dan Suckall. Cllr Kate Hill, Chair of the Parish Council, recited The Ode, the well known extract from Laurence Binyon's 1914 poem. A few residents and passers-by joined in informally. Everyone was careful to maintain social distancing.

The Memorial garden has been beautifully adorned this year with poppies crocheted by Margaret Sutcliffe a long-time resident of Harewood. We are very grateful for her thoughtful and creative design.

Fly tipping

The Council is becoming increasingly concerned about the frequency of incidents of fly tipping in the Parish. It is an antisocial practice that disfigures the neighbourhood, is potentially dangerous to wildlife and can be costly to remove. Leeds City Council spent nearly £1 million last year dealing with illegally dumped rubbish, a cost which has to be recovered through our Council Tax.

Recent incidents in Harewood Parish have included dumping of domestic rubbish in a lay-by on the main road to Collingham, and the dumping of garden waste in Sleights Lane, the track that leads to the cemetery. The incident at the cemetery, which occurred on 31 October, was witnessed and the vehicle involved reported to the Parish Council and Leeds City Council. No action will be taken on this occasion but the Parish Council ask everyone to dispose of their garden and household waste responsibly. Please do not use the Gravedigger's skip or dump your garden waste in or near the cemetery. The Parish Council has to bear the cost of removing it and deal with complaints about the state of the cemetery from funeral attendees and those visiting the graves of loved ones. Be aware that fines can be levied and access to vehicles used for illegal tipping removed.

If you witness rubbish being dumped please note the colour, make and number plate of the vehicle involved and report it. Likewise if you see refuse on the roadside or on a path. Fly tipping can be reported on line to Leeds City Council. Reporting link Don't delay, please report the matter as soon as you can because the presence of dumped material invites others to leave their rubbish in the same place, as it grows so does the the cost of removing it.

Parking problems in Harewood

Harewood residents will be very familiar with the serious parking congestion that is being experienced on The Avenue, Church Lane, Castlewood Close and Spring Gardens. In these difficult times it is hard not to be sympathetic towards visitors who just want to spend some time in the open air, in our pleasant countryside but the number of cars coming to the village on fine days and at weekends is overwhelming. The small number of parking spaces around the village hall are soon filled. Some parking has been irresponsible, blocking pavements, driveways and on yellow lined areas. Other parking areas such as the one on Wyke Lane have been similarly flooded with parked cars, and the overspill has caused traffic problems on the narrow lane.

In the face of what is currently an intractable problem, the Parish Council is very grateful to the Harewood Estate for allowing weekend parking at the top end of the Show Field through the entrance off Church Lane. We understand some 150 cars used the facility on the first day alone. Three traffic marshals have been needed, which has incurred a significant expense and the Parish Council is making a contribution to Harewood Estate towards costs. This is a payment made from the budget it holds for grants for community initiatives. The Show Field car park will continue up to an including the New Year Bank Holiday, if the weather is not too wet and the ground holds up.

Clearly we need a longer term solution but permanent car park would require the purchase of land, if a suitable site could be found, and the necessary approvals for development. This is a project that is beyond the current financial scope of Harewood Parish Council. We are in touch with our local City Councillors who are fully aware of the problems being caused.

When the Covid crisis is finally controlled, we may hope to return to a more tranquil life with manageable numbers of visitors coming to the village to enjoy the scenery, watch the Red Kites and visit the Muddy Boots cafe.

Tree works on Harewood Estate

This update has been provided by the Estate office

Residents travelling along the A61 between Harewood and Leeds may have noticed some changes to the woodland in recent weeks as tree thinning and felling works have been undertaken. This is the first year of works under the Harewood Estate's new 10 year woodland management plan, which balances the needs of woodland health, biodiversity, timber incomes and aesthetics for all forest blocks at Harewood.  

The Estate has made impressive strides towards sustainability in recent years, including through investments in onsite biomass plants, powered by wood chip. These now provide hot water and heating to Harewood House, the Courtyard, commercial and residential tenants as well as holiday cottages; therefore helping our visitors, tenants and guests become greener in the process. Our assessments show this is already saving us over 650 tonnes of carbon each year.

The majority of felling occurs where we can adopt a light touch approach that opens up rides and waterways to enhance biodiversity, protects historic vistas and prolong the life of ancient and veteran trees. We will rarely require to clear fell an area, unless it has safety concerns (e.g. roadside poplars) or a better biodiversity or cultural outcome can be assured. The clearfell area on the A61 is where a poplar stand had reached the end of its life and was at risk of falling into the road.

As part of our forestry operations we are also looking at significant new planting, including the creation of new woodlands. This includes the selection of species that are more resilient to pests and diseases, more adaptable to climate change, provide greatest biodiversity benefit and capture pollution most effectively from traffic. Felled areas will be replanted in the coming years.

We are pleased with how our forestry operation is progressing and hope it will play a key role in helping Harewood become more sustainable. We also hope it will act as a model that others in the region and beyond can learn from. Harewood is committed to protecting and enhancing our landscapes, as we have done for generations. We are also committed to playing our part in tackling the global climate crisis and a move towards a more sustainable world. We are part of both the Leeds Climate Commission and Sustainable Arts in Leeds. For more information do get in touch with the Harewood Estate office.

Broadband rollout in Harewood

Full bandwidth broadband is now available throughout most of Harewood village allowing residents to connect to Ultrafast Broadband services.  This will benefit those needing to work at home and to keep in touch with friends and loved ones during the present restrictions on travel and social mixing. There are still gaps in coverage where fibre cannot be directly connected to properties including Harewood Mews. Harewood Parish Council have been investigating the feasibility of  a Community Fibre Partnership for Harewood Mews with OpenReach and Leeds City Council. An offer has now been put together and the Parish Council will contacting residents in the Mews shortly with full details.

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