Bungling council blocked our street with 'hideous' planter

RESIDENTS are fuming over "hideous" planters installed by a bungling council that blocked their street - and stopped firefighters from getting to a house consumed by flames.

An electrical fault sparked flames which tore through the upstairs of a terraced home in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

But firefighters were delayed by four giant planters placed yards away from the property on Mexborough Place in Chapeltown to crack down on joyriders.

Emergency services had to unscrew the bollards before being able to tackle the fire.

The fire in Mexborough Place, in the city's Chapeltown suburb, broke out on June 7.

A council meeting was told last week how "emergency services were not aware how to get to that house" which "was then lost to the fire".

Council officials admitted that their processes for informing 999 crews of road closures "didn't follow through and it didn't end up on their system".

Sharon Kelly, 60, said: "It's just madness. In an emergency every second matters - it could be the difference between life and death.

"My mother has Alzheimer's and there's been times when we've needed an ambulance and it's got as far as the roadblock and can't get any further.

"If the fire crews had been able to get to the house fire quicker I don't think the damage would have been as extensive.

"But the delay could have cost lives if the residents had still been inside.

"The silly thing is that the next day the council turned up and screwed the planters right back again."

Sharon, who lives in line with the roadblock, said she had fought since 2020 for their removal.

She said: "They are hideous but that's the least of my concerns really.

"The council say they want to stop speeding drivers but instead of solving the problem they are just creating others."

Neighbour Audra Gatewood, 56, whose home looks down Mexborough Place, said: "I think the planters are a good thing.

"Couriers, shopping vans - they all come up here. You see them make it as far as the roadblock and then reverse. Then they've got to work out how to get around it."

Audra, who dialled 999 when the fire broke out, said she was still in favour of the roadblock to make life safer for daughter Janiqua-Shae, 13.

She added: "These streets were used as a race track. They would bomb up the road so fast that we feared they might plough straight into our home."

Next-door neighbour Sarah Kandziorka, 40, said: "I couldn't tell you the amount of speeding cars that have nearly ended up in my living room.

"It was so dangerous that you couldn't let the kids play outside. There have been so many near misses - houses have had their fences taken off.

"Something needed to be done so I'm glad the road is shut off.

"We called an ambulance ourselves and we saw it come up the road and then realised it couldn't get through."

Mum-of-two Mishia Buchanan, 38, added: "At first I was annoyed by the planters but I've just got used to it.

"There's no cars speeding down there any more, which is a good thing.

"It's just a stroke of luck that no-one was injured."

Paul Thomas, Leeds City Council's transport strategy manager described the incident as "tragic".

He told a council scrutiny committee: "With these schemes, ahead of time we will consult with the emergency services and give them the full details.

"Obviously with that incident, the process didn't follow through and it didn't end up on their system.

"But we are informing them and we are consulting them in the first instance."

A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: "In response to the COVID-19 pandemic central government launched the Emergency Active Travel Fund (EATF) which aimed to reallocate road space for people walking and cycling.

"Leeds City council used this funding to trial an Active Travel Neighbourhood in Chapeltown.

"Neighbourhoods in Leeds were prioritised based on the effect that Covid-19 had on existing travel behaviours, car ownership rates, existing infrastructure, and residents’ access to local services.

"The funding was conditioned on quick implementation due to the pandemic and this somewhat limited the level of consultation which could be done although before the scheme was implemented, an online consultation was undertaken and every household in the area received a letter about the proposed trial.

"The planters (made by a local firm using recycled materials) were placed in residential streets in Chapeltown in May 2020, to discourage vehicles from outside the area taking short cuts, creating a safer space.

"Since then, we worked closely with residents and local ward councillors, including a residents focus group to gather feedback from the trial and co-design a revised scheme.

"The revised scheme remains in a trial state and we are continuing to engage with residents and local ward councillors to obtain further feedback, before reaching a decision on whether to make the scheme permanent.

"Throughout the design and delivery of the scheme we have liaised with the emergency services who have been issued with copies of the plans."