When Councillor Richard Lewis was interviewed recently by Radio Aire, he described parts of Woodhouse Moor as ‘grim.’ I would like to ask Councillor Lewis which is grimmer, the grass trees and flowers that currently occupy this part of the Moor, or the broad expanse of concrete that will form the raised trolleybus stop that’s being proposed by Metro?

The above aerial photograph shows a group of trees on Woodhouse Moor that have been cut down within the last month. They were located immediately adjacent to a proposed NGT trolleybus stop. The diagram below shows the relevant section of the NGT route plans.

This is perhaps the latest example of Metro and Leeds City Council preparing the ground for the trolleybus scheme. Early last year, they sought permission to close vehicular access to Weetwood Lane supposedly on safety grounds (closure of vehicular access to Weetwood Lane is part of the NGT proposals). And prior to that, the council closed the children’s playground located on the part of the Moor between Woodhouse Street and Woodhouse Cliff (the playground lies in the path of a new access road required by the NGT proposals).