Sarata Sawo

“I’m proud to be your **Labour & Co-operative** candidate for Hunslet and Riverside - as a lifelong resident, I love our communities and I know personally the challenges we face, as I face them with you.”

“I’m already working hard for our area: serving as a school governor at Greenmount Primary and The Ruth Gorse Academy, supporting local charities like The Leeds Community African Trust, and volunteering at the Beeston Festival, and both the Greemount and Beeston Hill Resident Associations'.”

“I’ve also shadowed local Cllr Paul Wray for a year. I’ll be ready to help residents from day one if you put your faith in me.”

“My dad, who is in the RAF, taught me the value of public service. That is exactly why I want to give back to the place where I grew up - to be a strong local voice who will make a difference every day.”

“Our local councillors, Paul Wray and Mohammed Iqbal, work hard to put our community first. I want to join them to build a safer, healthier area, supporting everyone, but also ensuring the voices of women and young people are back at the table locally, and heard in the halls of power at Leeds Civic Hall - as they should be.”

“**Beeston Hill & Hunslet Moor**”

“_Your Main Concerns:_”

“Litter, fly-tipping, drugs, housing, and jobs.”

“_My Commitments:_”

“- Cleaner Streets: Install more litter bins and ensure targeted enforcement against fly-tipping.”

“- Tackling Crime: Work directly with the police to address drug issues.”

“- Better Housing: Crack down on rogue landlords.”

“Local Opportunity: Bring job fairs and skills training to the area.”

“**Hunslet, Hunslet Carr & Green**”

“_Your Main Concerns:_”

“Fly-tipping, housing repairs, and anti-social behaviour.”

“_My Commitments:_”

“- Tackling Waste: Secure targeted enforcement against fly-tipping.”

“- Housing Standards: Pressure landlords to speed up essential repairs.”

“- Safer Communities: Invest in youth services to address the root causes of anti-social behaviour.”

“**Leeds City Centre & Riverside**”

“_Your Main Concerns:_”

“Youth anti-social behaviour, air pollution, and homelessness.”

“_My Commitments:_”

“- Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour: Targeted youth provision and early action to stop trouble before it starts.”

“- Cleaner Air: Direct action on air pollution hotspots.”

“- Supporting the Vulnerable: Secure more resources to help the homeless”

“**Delivering Locally - Day in, Day Out**”

“_Fighting Crime and Making Us Safer_”

“- New CCVT: Beeston Hill United Free Church and Hunslet Church of the Nazarene, Brick Street, Church Walk, Kirkgate and Crown Street in Leeds.”

“- Police Action: Closing drug dens across Beeston, Hunslet and Leeds. Stop trouble at Garnets Pocket Park, Cross Flatts and Hunslet Moor Parks.”

“- Safer Nights: Stopped shops on Dewsbury Road from selling alcohol all night and secured a Cumulative Impact Area across Beeston Hill and Hunslet Moor.”

“- Illegal Camps: Built barriers at Moor Road, Grove Road, and Leasowe Recreation to stop illegal camps, and other locations.”

“- Road Safety: Put up fences near Hunslet Carr Primary, and the Royals to stop speeding quad bikes.”

“- River Safety: Provided funding for safety ropes along the river, and cleaning up under the main river bridges and removing drug dealers.”

“- Rule Breakers: Cracked down on holiday rentals (Airbnbs) causing crime, noise and other antisocial behaviour in the city centre and elsewhere in Hunslet and Beeston.”

“_Better Parks and Green Spaces_”

“- Upgrades: Improvements at Hunslet Lake, Brickfield, Church Street, Hunslet Moor, Cross Flatts, Rowland Road, and Trentham Street.”

“- New Spaces: Hunslet Square, Jack Lane, Little Moor at Beza Street, and Aire Park, with Leasowe - Recreation due this year.”

“- Planting Trees: Planted mature trees in Hunslet Moor, Pepper Road, Cross Flatts, Grove Road, Hunslet Lake, and other small parks.”

“- River Clean-Up: Removing bad graffiti, painting bridges, remove encampments and replacing invasive plants with native ones.”

“- Growing Food: Funded an Edible Estate project in Hunslet and funding community compost schemes in Hunslet Moor.”

“_Cleaner Streets_”

“- Bin Yards: Closed bin yards on Beeston Hill to reduce fly-tipping”

“- Fines: Challenging more people for dumping rubbish and increasing enforcement, and taking more proactive action.”

“- Litter Bins: funding hundreds of new litter bins in Beeston Hill, Hunslet, and City Centre, and soon added larger bin in shopping areas.”

“- Community Help: Funded a dozen community groups to buy litter picking equipment”

“- Street Art: Approved legal walls for graffiti art in the City Centre to reduce tagging elsewhere, and across Beeston and parts of Hunslet.”

“_Helping Our Community_”

“- Building Repairs: Paid for repairs at KWMA Centre, ASHA, Involve and other community centres.”

“- Access for All: Funded an accessible toilets, lift and stairlift at St Luke's Cares, a toilets and a stairlift at ASHA, plus a lift at Hamara Centre.”

“- Saving Lives: Installed heart-start machines (defibrillators) across Beeston and Hunslet.”

“- Local Groups: Helped set up residents groups for Greenmount, Beeston, and the Maltings, and supporting existing groups across the ward”

“- History: Fixed up the Bile Beans sign and installing history boards across Hunslet and Beeston.”

“- Local Pride: Christmas lights in Hunslet Carr and on Church Street.”

“_Travel_”

“- New Bridge: Supported the new David Oluwale bridge over the river.”

“- Cycling: Added bike stands and benches to Dewsbury Road.”

“- Safer Walking: Built a safer crossing point on Moor Road in Hunslet.”

“**Your Council’s Pledges**”

“_Proud Communities_”

“Creating dedicated neighbourhood clean-up teams and unlocking new council and government funding for local investments.”

“_Safer Streets_”

“Ensuring a named officer for every neighbourhood, adding 174 new West Yorkshire officers by 2027, and penalising ”

“fly-tippers (incidents down 16% since 2020).”

“_Affordable Living & Working_”

“Assisting 62,000 households via support funds, expanding the number of real living wage employers, and keeping brown bin collections free.”

“_Better Transport_”

“Improving connections via the East Leeds Orbital, investing £13 million and modern tech into faster pothole repairs, and running reliable buses for people, not profit.”

“_Supporting Families_”

“Expanding free childcare to 30 hours a week, rolling out free breakfast clubs (saving families £450/week), and boosting family support workers by 15%”