A part of Leeds has created a community action plan to help tackle the main issues within their area. A meeting was held at the Hamara building which involved members of the community, councilors and The Beeston Hill Community Association (BCHA). They all gathered to discuss the ongoing issues in Beeston.
The Beeston Hill Community Association (BCHA) consolidated 6 main targets which they deemed achievable. This spans from reducing fly tipping incidents by 33%, to addressing sex worker related issues, and holding police surgeries twice per month at different community venues.
Their main issue to tackle is the prominence of fly tipping in Beeston. There is an abundance of rubbish littering the streets, making certain residents feel “disgusted and embarrassed” about their local area. They want to enforce enhanced patrols, community education campaigns and the installment of CCTV in high-risk areas, by the end of January 2026.
Christopher White, member of the BCHA, said:
“Some people genuinely don’t know where to take large amounts of rubbish. Education will be key in resolving this issue.”
Councillor Paul Wray, on feedback to the fly tipping concerns:
“It is difficult to give a hard metric on reporting it as you can only do one report per person on a particular example of fly tipping, making it difficult for the council to discern the importance of the issue.”
However he said:
“We will enlist businesses, schools and mosques to spread the message of stopping fly tipping and we will put neighborhood wardens in place to act as a preventative measure.”
Source: Matthew MorganAnother main target was the implementation of “no dog fouling” signs in 15 identified hotspots. They want to launch a supporting awareness campaign via local newsletters and social media too. The introduction of “dog poo” stickers help solve short-term aspects while the signs are still being installed. This is to help with the overall cleanliness of Beeston, combining their issues and tackling them together as one.
The Councillors encouraged people to more frequently report these issues as, a lot of the time, it happens without any notice. Councillor Ed Carlisle:
“There’s a key thing about building the confidence of the community that the council has their back and the police has their back and then you get into this virtuous cycle of people trusting and helping each other”
Arguably the most dangerous agenda was a plan for addressing sex worker-related issues. They have collaborated with residents, sex worker advocacy groups and health/safety experts. It includes measures for resident safety, like targeted patrols and sex worker protection and access to support services for them.
During this heated meeting there were varied opinions. Resident of Beeston, Shazeem said:
“They are all still people, no matter what they do they still have feelings.”
Councillor Paul Wray said as feedback:
“There is a lot of talks and communication about the sex work in Beeston. We just need to think about the issue and respond accurately so we don’t bring in loads of curb crawlers looking for a good time”.
The general consensus to the community action plan was generally positive, with an approximate 70/30 split meaning the majority was won and the community action plan will be pushed to the council with the hope of making a change.
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