Following an update meeting with Highways England to update Cllrs on the their roadworks been Junction 1-7, we raised a number of concerns about issued within Hunslet and Riverside Ward. Highways England have not responded to these.
Westbury Grove Compound Restoration: We were concerned at the initial planting proposal, including the lack of replacement trees onsite. But It has now been confirmed they will now plant 90 1.2-1.5 metres tall mature trees and will, is space allows, increase the size of some of these if possible. This is a significant increase on what was originally planned and is a welcome change.
Litter on the embankment between Junction 3-5: Highways England has confirmed M621 junctions 1 to 6 is already highlighted by them as area needing clearance but is most problematic in terms of repeat littering.
To carry out litter picking they will need to close a lane to ensure they have a safe working environment for their staff. They are happy to work with the Council to see when this could be done. We have there asked for a dedicated meeting to look at this.
Hunslet Moor Footbridge Landing Drug Use: They have a scheme planned to close a gap on one of the bridges joints in March. As part of this work they will also added the clearance around the footbridge. They will also look at how they can up off access to the space in future and report back with proposals.
Junction 3 Biodiversity Loss: Lower level tree branches and ground shrubs will be removed to deter the area from being used for anti-social behaviour, drug use and rough sleeping. This is welcome work but it will remove a significant amount of vegetation and this the associated biodiversity- with no offer to replace this elsewhere. This is not acceptable to us as Councillors and we will continue to lobby for the loss to be offset somewhere in the ward.
There were some other minor issues still to be addressed, but the above issues are most pressing for us and residents. As Councillors we will continue to works with Highways England to address these.
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