PROPOSED CLOSURE OF ABERFORD SURGERY

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Most residents will be aware by now of the proposal by Garforth Medical Practice to close Aberford surgery, indeed the Parish Council understands that a letter has been sent to all homes in the village explaining the position.
This very important issue will be tabled for discussion at the next Parish Council meeting, which will be held on Tuesday 21 September, commencing at 7.30pm in the Oriel Room at St Ricarius church. The purpose is to enable Councillors to give proper consideration to the reasons given for the proposal and discuss the best way to address and respond to the many issues and impacts the proposal will have.
Whilst members of the public are, as always, welcome to attend the meeting it is not a forum for public debate, although any members of the public present who wish to comment briefly on any of the agenda items will be given an opportunity to do so by the Chairman.
Whatever action is taken by the Parish Council, ultimately the Parish Council will only be classed as one voice. The letter circulated (or e-mail/text advice as appropriate) provides an opportunity for all recipients to access a structured survey (www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/aberford) during the public engagement period which runs from Monday 13 September to Friday 15 October. This can be done on line or on paper, copies of the survey are available from the surgery at Jessamine House, during normal opening hours. The Parish Council would like to encourage anyone who wishes to express their point of view to take part in the survey which provides a number of different ways that residents can submit their thoughts and opinions. We are strongly of the view that the more individual and varied responses received, the greater weight this will carry.
The Garforth Medical practice will also be holding an on line Zoom meeting to be held on Tuesday 5 October from 6-7 pm. Those who would like to attend and need joining instructions, along with those who are unable to attend the Zoom meeting but wish to leave feedback should contact the Garforth Medical Centre, either via email (garforthmedicalcentre@nhs.net) or by calling 0113 385 4535.
Please note that the Parish Council meetings continue to be held with Covid safety in mind, therefore any members of the public who wish to attend must advise the Parish Clerk (clerk@aberford-pc.gov.uk) of their intention to do so no later than the day before the meeting and must also take a lateral flow test and provide evidence of a negative result to the clerk.

ABERFORD GREEN SPACES

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Would you like to make a real difference to the look of the village and its wildlife?

We are organising a voluntary working party to tidy up some of the green spaces in the village. Starting with the plant beds behind the bus stop near the old Swan Pub.

Date – Saturday 25th September.

Time – 1pm.

Expected finish time – 3pm.

No experience is required, although you will need to bring your own trowel!

Leeds Festival 2021 – Traffic Plans Update 25 August

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Festival Republic have this morning advised that, after meeting with the Offsite Traffic Coordinators and liaising with the Police, the North end Main Street closure will be a hard closure, with no through traffic permitted, not even for local residents.

The police have advised using Lotherton Lane as an alternative route Northwards, alternatively residents can access the M1, A1 and A64 by exiting the southern main street exit and heading towards Garforth.

 

Leeds Festival 2021 – Traffic Plans

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Residents will be aware that, as in previous years, a number of road closures and other restrictions will be in place for the duration of the Leeds Festival, this applies from Wednesday 25th August to Monday 30th August.  Closures and a one way system will apply on sections of the A1 and A64 at various stages during the above period, full details and other information about the event can be found at https://www.leedsfestival.com/local-residents.

The Parish Clerk attended a meeting on the plans yesterday and, so far as Aberford village is concerned, the specific impacts will be as follows;

The signage in the village is in place to deter Festival attendees and in addition Festival Republic will provide stewarding at both ends of the village to stop Festival traffic. However, I am advised that Aberford residents will be able to enter and leave Main Street at both ends in the normal way and there is no need to carry address verification, although this might be a sensible precaution.  The 173 and 174 buses will be allowed through the village.

The traffic plan this year is concentrated around two key A1 routes for Southbound and Northbound traffic respectively.  This, together with other traffic flow changes, is expected to alleviate the problems experienced in Aberford in previous years, particularly at peak arrival and departure times.  Festival Republic have plans in place to monitor the key pressure points and take action to address any issues which might arise.

 

 

Leeds Festival 2021 – Update 20th August

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All successful applicants should by now have received their ticket(s) and joining instructions from Festival Republic. If by any chance you have not (having checked the e-mail address you provided me with, including the junk filter) please let me know urgently by e-mail to clerk@aberford-pc.gov.uk.

There is no need to contact me if you have received your tickets.

 

Notice of conclusion of audit year ending 31st March 2021

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PKF Littlejohn LLP has now completed their audit of the Parish Council’s accounts for the year ending 31st March 2021.

To view the Notice of conclusion of audit and Sections 1-3 of the Annual Governance & Accountability Return (AGAR) click here.

Independent Member recruitment for WY Police & Crime Panel

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Applications are sought for two independent members of the Police & Crime Panel for West Yorkshire, now scrutinising the work of the elected Mayor. Anyone interested can see an outline of the responsibilities and a link to apply here.

64 BUS SERVICE TEMPORARY TIMETABLE

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Residents will be aware of the proposed road closure between Scholes and Crossgates effective from 23rd July for 6 weeks.  Metro have now provided a temporary timetable which you can view here.  It appears that a hourly shuttle bus service will be operated between Seacroft Bus Station and Aberford between 7am and 11pm. In addition the timetable shows an hourly service between Aberford and Crossgates between the hours of 6.25 am and 6.25 pm.

If you are in any doubt about these arrangements you should contact Metro direct.

ABERFORD SCARECROW FESTIVAL

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Please see attached here the flyer for the Aberford Village 2021 Scarecrow Festival.

This Festival is supported by Aberford School PTA and Aberford Village Parish Council. It is open to all residents in Aberford and you do not need to attend Aberford School to participate.

Leeds Festival 2021 – Update 19th June

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Applications for the Aberford Parish Council allocation of Leeds Fest tickets for 2021 have now closed, any further applications received will not be considered.

As applicants will be aware from the previous update, we were hoping to arrange for a draw to take place shortly after the 21st June lockdown release, however as this has been delayed for up to 4 weeks we are now looking at a date after 19th July.  We will by then be getting near the festival date so we intend to hold a draw in some form on Thursday 22nd July, commencing at 6.30pm.  To make best use of the inside and outside space this will be held in or in the vicinity of the Aberford Bowling club, at the bottom of Parlington Drive, just off Cattle Lane.

Irrespective of whether the lockdown easing takes place on 19th July the Parish Council is mindful of the need to do everything possible to maintain public safety at this time.  Therefore to control numbers we would request that only one person per application attends the draw and that no other members of the public are in attendance.  Once arrangements for the draw have been finalised all applicants will be contacted individually by email to confirm details and the requirements for ID and payment from successful applicants.