It may sound a bizarre question, but it is a question currently at the forefront of Meanwood Valley Partnership issues following the somewhat unconventional, Christmas lights switch on in 2014.
The junction of Green Road, Stonegate Road and Monkbridge Road in Meanwood is currently in council boundary limbo, straddling both the Weetwood and Moortown wards.
During the Christmas lights switch on in the Moortown side of central Meanwood last year, lights on one side of the street were already switched on, but not on the other, as Weetwood ward wanted to switch their Christmas lights on at a different time.
Despite being well organised and well attended by the people of Meanwood, the fact that the lights were not all switched on at once made the event slightly anti-climactic.
Many residents deemed this unacceptable and in January 2015, Meanwood Valley Partnership Chairman Chris Sheard presented a deputation to Leeds City Council, requesting that Meanwood be reinstated as a viable district in its own right.
Describing the Christmas lights switch on, Chairman Sheard said: “It was embarrassing, bordering on a fiasco. The result was detrimental to Meanwood residents on both sides of the border.”
The light switch on furthered the belief that Meanwood should no longer fall within two different wards, and should be its own district.
Chairman Sheard said: “There is a firm desire for Meanwood to have a defined, rational boundary and identity. We ask the council to find ways to put community before bureaucracy.”
Adding: “Can we not have all of Meanwood united under one community committee? Focusing on citizens’ needs and aspirations, not purely ease of council administration.”
Chairman Sheard called on all parties to join Meanwood in a single electoral ward during the ward boundary reviews, which are expected to take place in 2016. Speaking at a recent Meanwood Valley Partnership meeting, Chairman Sheard and fellow members alsocare called on residents to support for the deputation and attend future meetings to give their input on where they believe Meanwood’s boundaries are.
You can find information on future meetings on the Meanwood Valley Partnership website, and watch the full council deputation here.
Meanwood Matters 
The problem is that council ward boundaries do not always follow community boundaries. The current boundaries are much better than the last lot, but some communities are still split between different wards. A review of ward boundaries is just getting underway and has to be completed and implemented in time for the 2018 local elections. The best thing that the Meanwood community can do is to get involved in the process and seek to have the Meanwood community kept together in the same ward. You could even ask for the ward name to include the name ‘Meanwood’ – although each ward normally includes several different communities. Lots of ward names have two community names such as ‘Beeston & Holbeck’ and ‘Farnley & Wortley’.
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Thanks very much for your comment Stephen!
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