ℹ COUNCILLOR IQBAL AND WRAY’S REPORT TO THE HUNSLET MOOR FORUM: OCT 2025

Tents: Antisocial behaviour and tents remain an on-and-off issue in several locations, and officers from West Yorkshire Police, the Leeds Antisocial Behaviour Team, and other support services are responding when needed. Reporting remains vital for services to respond quickly.

The Leeds Antisocial Behaviour Team is also in the early stages of putting the case forward for a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) for the wider areas to help tackle the use of tents for drug dealing, but this will take some time to develop and be sent to the courts for approval.

Short-Term Holiday Lets: We know there are several short-term holiday-lets in the area causing issues with antisocial behaviour, noise, and parking. Although occasional use of a domestic property is permitted, typically up to 90 days a year, long-term use is not without planning permission.

If you suspect a local property is being used as an unapproved long-term short-stay holiday let, please email planning.enforcement@leeds.gov.uk with the details.

Crime and Antisocial Behaviour: We’ve had an increase in reports of antisocial behaviour and solicitation in this area. Much of this is focused on Dewsbury Road, but with issues also at the cleared areas on Hunslet Moor and along Longroyd Terrace.

• General Antisocial Behaviour: This can be reported online at https://www.leeds.gov.uk/anti.../report-antisocial-behaviour.

• Crime: If this is ongoing and/or a person is at immediate risk, call 999. If not, please call 101 or report online via https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/LiveChat or https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/report-it, where you have an option to remain anonymous by placing “x” in the contact detail fields.

• Alternatively, you can contact Crime Stoppers on 0800555111.

• Soliciting: If you see anyone soliciting, please call the dedicated number on 07497386922.

• Rough Sleeping: Please contact leeds.sos@cgl.org.uk with details. If you see anyone you believe is at medical risk or under the age of 18, please call 999.

West Yorkshire Police and the Leeds Antisocial Behaviour Team are deploying significant resources, which has even seen the redeployment of Team Leodis back to the area to support efforts to keep the pressure on the local drug supply network and tackle on-street drinking and begging.

More Community Protection Notices (CPNs) and warnings are being issued, and if they do not work, cases can then escalate to court, including banning people from the area. But this is a long process, and the police and services must show they have tried everything else first.

Safer Leeds is in the process of applying for funding for a number of projects that will bring a mixture of extra enforcement resources, but also treatment and support work for those with alcohol or other substance abuse, which are the main drivers of the behaviour.

Hunslet Moor Weed Spraying: Several residents have been in contact about seeing many circular patches of dead grass on the moor.

There was a plan to replant this area with new whips (young trees/saplings), and to support them to establish, it was necessary to weed the area where they were going to be planted.

This sadly also killed the grass in that location temporarily. Because of the antisocial behaviour issues, we've had on this part of the moor, a decision was taken not to replant this area this year, but it appears that the team who do the weeding had not had this updated on their maps, and so they weeded the area by accident.

The grass will grow back but it will look a bit odd until this happens. It should be fully recovered by next spring.

Additional Hunslet Moor Benches: Four more benches for Hunslet Moor are on order. The parks department had forgotten to order them, and so they should have been in place months ago. But they have been now.

Hunslet Moor Depot: Following the approval of the grant to remove the fence at Hunslet Moor Depot at the Inner Southwest Community Committee, Officers will now be arranging the work—work that the local parks manager, the police, the antisocial behaviour team, and the majority of residents in the local area support.

The plan is to keep all the mature trees on site and only remove a small number of self-seeder bushes in between the mature trees to open up sight lines to improve security.

But Officers will try and save as many of these self-seeder branch stems as possible as they are ideal for use in den building and other activities around creative outdoor play for children.

The fence is also to be recycled and donated to Middleton Railway to go on too Little Moor Park, opposite the museum, saving the Council having to buy as much new fencing, which would cost up to £10,000 for a similar length. The work has been delayed due to nesting season and other projects, but will now be scheduled in.

Leeds Wild Spaces Project: Wild Spaces is a UK-wide programme run by Butterfly Conservation. The aim is to provide a simple and easy way for everyone to get involved in helping butterflies and moths.

A Wild Space is any space enhanced to help butterflies and moths thrive—including window boxes, pots on patios, wilder areas in gardens, and wildflower meadows in churchyards and parks.

They provide space for nature and places for people to access and enjoy.

35 additional Wild Spaces will have been created by volunteers at home or in their community, with Hunslet Moor being considered as one of these sites, with the support of the Friends of Hunslet Moor.

Dewsbury Road Parking: For a while, I've been receiving increasing complaints about pavement parking across multiple sections of Dewsbury Road, between Trentham Street and Hunslet Hall Road junctions.

After speaking to Parking Services enforcement officers, it transpires their ability to fine has been badly restricted by the deterioration of the paintwork on the kerbside—pictured in this post—which indicates “No Loading or Unloading”.

Officers from Highways Leeds have today repainted all the kerbside markings along this section, making it clear that over the vast majority of Dewsbury Road, loading and unloading is not permitted.

This will not be an instant solution, but it will mean that officers from Parking Services can now instantly ticket for any obstructive parking on yellow lines and on the pavement across this section of road, which over time, will have an impact.

This will help support the free flow of traffic by preventing inappropriately parked vehicles on the road and freeing up the walkway for pedestrians. I'm also still working to increase regular evening enforcement patrols from the central parking services team to address the parking that's taking place on a night as well.