📫Letter 4 — To Cllr Abdul Hannan (with reply)

Climate leadership and community priorities in Headingley & Hyde Park

Date: 16 October 2025

Recipient: Cllr Abdul Hannan (Labour) — Headingley & Hyde Park Ward

Roles: Chair, Inner North West Community Committee | Member, Environment Housing & Communities Scrutiny Board | Member, West Yorkshire Transport Committee

Letter

I am writing as part of One Letter a Day: a year-long public project to rekindle honest, grounded conversations about the climate crisis, beginning here in Leeds.

Over the next twelve months I will write daily to people in positions of influence (councillors, MPs, business leaders and public figures) to explore how we might act meaningfully on the climate emergency at every level. Each exchange is published online to foster open, fact-based dialogue rather than private correspondence. This is the fourth letter in the project, following those sent to Cllrs Rafique, Goodall and Pryor.

When you were elected, you were quoted in the Yorkshire Evening Post as listing the climate emergency and protecting green spaces among your priorities for Headingley and Hyde Park. You also serve on the Scrutiny Board for Environment, Housing & Communities and the West Yorkshire Transport Committee, both central to how our city addresses climate, energy and sustainability.

We are now living through a period when the window for meaningful mitigation is closing fast. The global carbon budget compatible with 1.5 °C is effectively gone, and at the same time geopolitical tensions and economic instability are pushing many governments — and businesses — to retreat from their own commitments. Against this backdrop, visible and courageous local leadership becomes more important than ever.

So my question is this:

Looking back on your first period in office, how do you assess your contribution to addressing the climate emergency within these roles? Do you feel your actions — and those of the Council — are proportionate to the urgency of the challenge and to how seriously your constituents view it?

I would greatly value your reflections and, if possible, a short reply that I can share alongside this letter to deepen the civic conversation over the coming year.

With thanks and respect,

— Vivien

Headingley / Hyde Park resident

📨 Reply from Cllr Hannan

Received Thursday, October 16th, 2025 at 08:29

Dear Vivian

Thank you for your letter and for your thoughtful contribution to keeping the climate emergency at the heart of civic discussion in Leeds. I welcome your One Letter a Day project and the spirit of open dialogue it represents — it is through community-led engagement and accountability that we can drive meaningful change.

As a councillor for Headingley and Hyde Park, I have worked closely with residents, community groups, and council officers to ensure our local action reflects both the urgency of the climate crisis and the priorities of those who live here. Much of my focus has been on practical, place-based work — tackling environmental issues that directly impact people’s daily lives while supporting the Council’s wider ambition for Leeds to become a net zero city by 2030.

As the Environment champion for the Inner North here are some of the steps taken locally include:

• Protecting and improving green spaces such as Woodhouse Moor, Rosebank Fields, and local pocket parks — ensuring they remain safe, accessible and well maintained, while promoting biodiversity and nature recovery.
• Supporting community-led environmental initiatives, including litter clean-ups, tree planting, and the development of new environment groups in the ward to encourage residents to take part in climate-positive action.
• Working with the Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority to improve sustainable transport with new electric buses in our ward, supporting safer cycling and walking routes, introduced Beryl bikes across the city and our ward, taxi and private hire vehicles move to lower emission vehicles and campaigns to reduce car dependency and congestion in the area.
• Championing energy efficiency and housing improvements, especially in student and private rental properties, by pushing for stronger standards on insulation, heating and waste management, which are crucial for both sustainability and health.
• Promoting recycling and waste reduction, including better bin provision, and tackling fly-tipping, to help shift behaviours towards more sustainable waste management practices.
• Reduce of Air pollution, our ward has also seen the air pollution and Nitrogen Dioxide levels here are now less that half than when we started the Clean Air work in the last 10 years. In addition the air pollution is less polluted now than in 2020 during the covid lockdown periods.

While there is still much more to do, I believe these local actions — combined with citywide measures such as expanding district heating, investing in active travel, and decarbonising council buildings — are vital building blocks in responding to the climate emergency.

The scale of the challenge demands more than individual or council-level efforts; it requires coordination across government, business, and communities. But I remain committed to ensuring Leeds continues to lead by example — showing that local leadership, backed by active citizens, can make a tangible difference.

Thank you again for reaching out and for helping to sustain this important public conversation.

Kindest regards

Cllr Abdul Hannan

Headingley & Hyde Park Ward

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Comment below or share your thoughts using #OneLetterADay.

Tomorrow’s letter will turn to civic leadership and how visible climate urgency can be restored across Leeds.