New footbridge opened ahead of schedule

A new footbridge in Churwell has been built which has replaced a dangerous crossing across the railway line just outside Morley Train Station. The crossing was the subject of a tragic death of a Morley Young Person and we have been negotiating with Northern Rail for over 18 months to try and find a safer route to prevent a similar tragedy in the future.

The campaign had the support of Churwell Town Councillors along with the local Ramblers Association and others as it maintains a public right of way across the railway line but it is now much safer for all.

Particular mention should go to Cllr Janet Harrison and Steve Hunter, both Churwellites, who have worked tirelessly for this outcome - taking their community with them.

It is on the strength of their work that a further project has been undertaken to see if a cycle track can be delivered to link the White Rose to Morley Train Station. This is ongoing and the principle agreed. All we now need is the cash to support it!

Can I wish all Blog Readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy Campaigning New Year!

Church Field Meeting a success

The MARC (Morley against Reckless Construction) meeting to discuss the proposed development of Church Fields in East Ardsley has been hailed as a success by campaign organiser Cllr Wyn Kidger.

The meeting, attended by over 90 local residents, discussed the community’s concerns about the application from Barratts the Builders and David Wilson Homes for 370 houses on the Greenfield site.

Cllr Kidger said “It was a brilliant turn out and the residents should be commended for their commitment to work together to get this application refused. We are delighted to be supporting residents with this campaign.”

Residents raised concerns about the capacity for local schools and the local health centre to cope with the proposed level of development as well as commenting on the congestion problems that regularly occur on the Bradford Road corridor through East Ardsley. They also raised other issues such as the impact on local wildlife and the positive benefit the Greenfield site offered for peace and tranquillity in the village.

Cllr Kidger said “We will be meeting again in January to develop a series of posters for people to display who support the campaign and to maximise the number of objections to this application. If we remain united we can win this campaign and defeat the Developers!”
Objection forms are available by e mailing keepchurchfieldsgreen@hotmail.co.uk or by contacting Cllr Kidger directly on 07790090777.

Keep Church Fields Green Campaign



Church Fields at East Ardsley

 We are holding a public meeting in East Ardsley next Tuesday to get support for the MARC campaign to keep Church Fields in East Ardsley green. The Meeting will be held at the Conservative Club on Chapel Street East Ardsley on Tuesday 10th December at 7pm.

The meeting will discuss the application for 370 housing units on this greenfield site from Barratts the Builders and David Wilson Homes.

MARC oppose this development because local infrastructure cannot cope with this level of over development, This is because both the local primary and secondary schools are full with children already living within the area without any capacity to take the additional children this site will generate. Local children will therefor be unable to obtain a place at a local school. It is well known that the local health centre struggles to cope with the present demand on its services and the local roads - especially the A650 - already have large volumes of traffic using the system which only gets worse when the motorway network - the M1 or the M62 - are fouled up. Invariably traffic aiming to miss such congestion goes through East Ardsley and it is not as if that is a rare occurrence!

Church Fields is a greenfield site designated as a protected area of search but Labour Leeds City Council - along with its acquiescent Labour Councillors on Plans Panels - are happy to roll over and do the Developers bidding if such sites come up for development. Why they don't have more spine and refuse such applications when Labour Leeds City Council has already granted planning permission for over 20,000 housing units on mainly brownfield sites is a significant puzzle. Surely it is only reasonable for Developers to develop these sites before one blade of grass on a greenfield site is removed! That would seem logical but not to Labour Leeds City Council!

We will of course be backing the local community with the campaign to protect this greenfield site. I suspect their present local Labour Councillors will be as feeble as they were when considering the LDF (all three voted for the LDF and its target of over 7,000 housing units across the greater Morley area). It will be interesting to see if they oppose the application. I suspect they will as there are votes in it and Labour can always be guaranteed to be flexible with its principles if they loose votes!

There is an e mail address that can be contacted for objections forms which is keepchurchfieldsgreen@hotmail.co.uk. I hope residents will back the campaign and complete as many objection forms as possible.

I'm expecting a vibrant meeting next Tuesday. I'm looking forward to getting on the campaign trail again!

More Bobbies on bicyles

We are backing a bid from Morley Neighbourhood Policing Team which will see a grant being awarded for extra bicycles to support front line staff. Morley NPT already do an excellent job and we have some of the lowest crime levels across the whole of West Yorkshire.

The idea behind providing the NPT with state of the art mountain bikes is to support then getting around their beats quicker. They can cover a greater area and meet more people including the vulnerable. It is a much better way to Police than getting officers to patrol in police cars where they don't have the same level of interaction with local residents.

The new bikes will be a good asset to the Police and I am sure residents will see them operating across the wider Morley area. We will always find the cash to support local Policing. It is one of our priorities and clearly a similar priority for the communities we represent.

More bobbies on bikes is a sure sign that we will continue to do all we can to have the biggest, most mobile and most effective policing team across the West Yorkshire area!

Owlers Farm - another Labour betrayal



Owlers Farm Morley - another Greenfield site handed over by Labour to Developers

 I attended Plans Panel yesterday to support residents who are opposing housing development on a Greenfield site at Owlers Farm off Wide Lane Morley. The proposal was for 125 executive style houses on a greenfield site which is very precious to local residents.

As you would expect Labour Councillors - the Developers friend - backed the application from Persimmon Homes to rip up this greenfield site and cover it in concrete. The application was also initially opposed by both the Tories and the Lib Dem who spoke eloquently against the proposal but ultimately backed Labour when it came to the vote.

What are we to make of this further Labour betrayal of the people of Morley? Lets check the evidence. The Planning Report confirmed that objections had come from my colleagues Cllrs Varley and Elliott and from MBI run Morley Town Council. It also confirmed that NO objection has been made by Labour apologist Cllr Neil Dawson despite his promise to oppose the application. Indeed he couldn't even be bothered to attend the meeting to see his Labour colleagues betray Morley residents further. Our MP Ed Balls - as ever - didn't raise an objection nor could he with his recent pledge to build 200,000 new homes. Perhaps he's looking to build then all on Morley Greenfield sites!

Planning Officers confirmed that the site was not sustainable as both Primary and Secondary Schools are full with children presently living in Morley. The decision to agree these additional 125 properties put the total of Labour Betrayal to over 450 new houses on Morley Greenfield sites. Planners will also tell you that that level of Over development will create a further 150 schoolchildren - all of whom do not have a place in a local school. Is puts more pressure on local roads - which are already overloaded - and on local health centres where waiting times for an appointment are already long.

Labours position is that this is "an acceptable development" . It often is with them. As we have seen with Cottingley Springs they are happy to dump problems in other peoples back yards. Of course they claim that this will offer affordable homes - a claim that is as hollow as their commitment to Morley. Labour agreed to reduce the percentage of affordable homes that Developers have to provide from 25% to 15% because their buddies in the house building business claim they could not afford to house local people and on this development even agreed to the Developer not providing any affordable homes on site to house any local residents. We will inevitable get Executive style housing on this site which local people will not be able to afford and which will not be housing them.

But all is not lost. The Developer has a real problem with access to the site because of its undulating nature. We will continue to battle to stop development here as it may not be practical - in planning terms - to develop the site enough to give the Developer a profit.

Clearly Labour backs the Developers yet again and believe that profit should be put before people. We will continue to fight to protect all of Morley's Greenfield sites - and that includes Owlers Farm.

Bookies decision slammed




Cllrs Varley and Elliott outside the proposed betting shop

  A decision by a Planning Inspector to grant planning permission for the bookies William Hill to open a shop on Windsor Court in Morley has been slammed by local MBI Councillors Shirley Varley and Judith Elliott. The controversial decision overturns a refusal notice form both Leeds City Council and Morley Town Council.

Cllr Shirley Varley said “This is an outrageous decision that ignores the concerns of local people. The Planning Inspector accepts that this betting shop breaches planning rules but still grants planning permission against the wishes of local people.”

The Planning Inspector states in his decision notice “I observed on my site visit that the town centre had a strong retail presence, with a good range of shops and a relatively low level of vacancies, although there were two other vacant units within Windsor Court. At the time of my visit the centre was busy and vibrant.”

Cllr Judith Elliott said “It appears from the Inspectors decision notice that because the Town Centre is doing well in these difficult times then a betting office is acceptable! Presumably if the Town centre was failing then he would have refused planning permission.”

Councillors opposed the application as they believed it was important to avoid the Town Centre becoming over dominated by betting shops. They also had concerns that its location could impact on children and young people who would pass the betting shop on their way to school.

Cllr Varley said “This is a rejection of local democracy and undermines the wishes of local people. This decision is taken by a Planning inspector who doesn’t live in the area and visited the Town Centre briefly for a short period of time. Local decision making has been rejected and the interests of a wealthy nationally based business put above the wishes of local residents.”

Burglary numbers drop in Morley



Morley Police Station houses Morley NPT

 The drop in burglary rates across Morley is a good news story. The figures show a drop in burglary rates of 25% in the Morley North Ward and 26% in Morley South over the last 3 months. Over the last year burglary rates in Morley have dropped by over 11%.

This is not only good news for all our communities it also shows what an excellent job the Morley Neighbourhood Policing Team is doing with cracking down on these offenders.

We have supported Morley NPT with financial support for crime reduction programmes such as improved locks and other security measures and financial support from Morley Town Council and Drighlington and Gildersome Parish Councils makes Morley’s Neighbourhood Policing Team one of the largest in West Yorkshire.

We need to continue to work together to make sure we do all we can to keep burglary figures as low as possible. Being burgled is a distressing crime and people often feel violated in their homes. A larger Policing Team means more Police Officers on the streets and cracking down on burglary rates will mean fewer residents suffering these crimes.

Morley Neighbourhood Policing Team is recognised as one of the highest performing teams across Leeds. The NPT focus on known offenders to prevent re-occurrence of previous crimes which has substantially reduced levels of burglary over the last decade.

Indeed their zero tolerance policy on such individuals brings real results and is a major reason for the increased confidence in our Police Service which is keeping Morley and its wider district safe.



Letter from Brandon Lewis MP confirming call in of Cottingley Springs

 I received news this week that the controversial Cottingley Springs Travellers site expansion plan is to be referred to the Secretary of State Eric Pickles - should Labour Leeds City Council decide to grant planning permission.

This is good news and follows on from the meeting I had with Eric Pickles last week to voice our concerns about this inappropriate development in the greenbelt. The letter also confirms the Governments clear policy intent not to allow development of Travellers sites in the greenbelt and follows on from a Ministerial Statement in June which confirmed that unmet need for Travellers sites doesn not constitute very special reasons to allow such development in the greenbelt.

The Comrades position on this application is a puzzle. Despite their public "solidarity" supporting Travellers rights - they seem less keen when it comes to putting this empty rhetoric into practise. A small Travellers site application in Sandon Mount in Hunslet is a good example of this gross hypocrisy. The site - a nailed on approval as it satisfies all the policy tests - clear to local facilities such as schools/shops, good public transport/ not isolated form other communities/ was objected to by all three Labour Councillors for the Ward along with the local Labour MP. As a result of this the application has been buried in the Planning Department for 10 months while the Comrades attempt to agree the Cottingley Spring Expansion Plan which would allow them to refuse the application on the basis of the additional 12 pitches! So much for working class solidarity which is clearly only veneer thick with many of the Comrades.

My view is this application is doomed. If Labour Leeds City Council manages to wangle it through by using  their majority on the Planning Committee then the Secretary of State will  - if he is consistent with these things - refuse it at that point.

The alternative is to adopt the policy agreed by the Comrades at a recent Executive Board meeting. Smaller family run sites on previously developed brownfield land. We have several around Morley - such as on Nepshaw Lane, Howden Clough Road and Whitehall Road - along with Cottingley Springs. Other areas need to offer up similar sites. If all the other 31 wards in Leeds offered just one small family sites for a couple of pitches then the Travellers site problem - and the blight of unauthorised Travellers sites - would be resolved. It requires Labour Councillors to practise what they preach and to put their so called socialist principles into real and tangible action.

Don't hold your breath!

We meet with Eric Pickles MP

I joined campaigners who travelled to the House of Commons on Wednesday to see Eric Pickles MP to discuss concerns about Labour Leeds LDF plan for over 7,000 new houses for the Greater Morley Area and Labours Plans to expand Cottingley Springs Travellers site despite overwhelming opposition.

We were grateful for the opportunity to meet with the Secretary of State responsible for Planning to raise the issues about the over development of the Morley area. We told him about the lack of school places at both Primary and Secondary schools, the problems with getting appointments at local health centres along with the incapacity of local road networks and the motorway network to accommodate this level of development. We confirmed the unrealistic population figures Labour Leeds came up with and the unrealistic target of 74,000 new houses across the Leeds City Council area. We also told him about the planning permissions granted for over 20,000 new homes on mainly brownfield sites across the Leeds City Council area which had not yet been built.

On Cottingley Springs Travellers site expansion we raised issues about the plan breaching national and local policies, the levels of criminality from some of the Travellers on site and the unified opposition from local residents, local councillors and some Travellers themselves who oppose this scheme.

Mr Pickles listened carefully to what we said and our view was that he was sympathetic to our concerns. A large number of notes were taken and we are optimistic that both Labours LDF and Travellers Plans will be called in for closer scrutiny.

We will see early in the New Year what action Mr Pickles is to take.

Reduced speed limit for Drighlington?

I was in Drighlington Village this week when we had a look at the speed limits that are presently operating at the entry to the Village. At both the Wakefield Road and Bradford Road ends of the A650 it is clear that the speed limits are too high. A 40mph zone operates at both ends and does not reduce to 30mph until you are well within the residential zone.

Its clear that these inappropriate speed limits send confused messages to motorists and we  need to do all we can to get the speed limit reduced at the point a residential zone is reached.

Highways are presently undertaking a full review off speed limits along the length of the A650 from East Ardsley through to the Bradford Border. We've asked for the Drighlington section to have the speed limit reduced from a 40 to a 30 as soon as the village is entered. A decision is due next Spring and I hope we will be able to deliver safer and slower roads for Drighlington residents.

Morley Folk pack Inspectors Hearing



Morley Folk fill Leeds Civic Hall at the Inspectors Meeting

 A hundred Morley residents attended a packed meeting at Leeds Civic Hall today to campaign against Labours LDF plan for 7,200 new homes for the Morley wide area.

The meeting - which was a session with the Planning Inspector who is examining the plan to see if its sound - is the only such meeting during the examination process because of the large numbers of objections form the Morley area. I was delighted to see so many people from different communities coming together to support each other.

My colleague Cllr Tom Leadley lead the discussion with a clear paper that confirmed Labour Leeds City Councils population projections were bonkers and miles away from the truth. He also gave clear evidence that Labour Leeds couldn't deliver over 4,000 new homes each and every year to 2028. Planning Officers could offer no coherent strategy on where the money for the new infrastructure required by Labours LDF for schools, roads or health centre would come from. Indeed they have no plan.

The Planning Inspector was fair and gave everyone who wanted to comment an opportunity to do so but the clear and consistent message was that the infrastructure required for Labours Proposals for 7,200 new houses for Morley was not affordable or deliverable. Taking into account the fact that Morley's primary and secondary schools will be full by 2016 with students already living in the area then Labours proposals are exposed as being nothing more than a Developers Charter.

Indeed after Labour Leeds agreed to reduce the contribution Developers have to make for affordable housing from 25% to 15% Developers are now moaning that they can't even afford that meagre amount! If Labours LDF gets through then we will seem more Executive Style Housing and none of the affordable housing we actually need.

The clear message from this mornings meeting is that Morley is full and we will resist an attempts by Labour Leeds and their Developer buddies to overdevelop any of our communities.



Morley Campaigners this morning



Excellent Rally but lets build for the Inspectors Meeting!

We had an excellent rally in Morley last Saturday when hundreds of local residents came together to raise their objection to Labours LDF Plan. Regular readers will know we have opposed Labours Plans for an additional 7,200 new homes across the Morley area because the infrastructure - such as schools, roads and health centres - can't cope with this level of over development.

Speaker after speaker spoke out against Labours outrageous LDF plan which will brings thousands of Executive Style Houses with little if any affordable homes for those on Morley's Housing Waiting List. Indeed Labour Leeds reduced the targets for affordable homes form 25% down to 15% - despite opposition from me - to make sure Developers maximised their profits from Morley Greenfield sites.

The rally called on Morley Folk to attend the Hearing next Friday 11th October at 930am at the Civic Hall in Leeds where Morley gets its own session with the Planning Inspector on Labours LDF plan. Indeed Morley is the only community that's gets its own session and this is due to the overwhelming and unified opposition of local residents.

The only person still peddling the Labour line on this is Labours Cllr Neil Dawson who - despite the views of the people he represents - continues to back the Party Line. His loyalty - as ever - remains with the Labour Party and not Morley People.

Even Labour MP Ed Balls confirmed on Saturday after the rally that he supports our campaign - in his words he's "right behind us". As to how true that is - when you note that no objection has been lodged by either Ed nor any of his Labour acolytes - is difficult to say. Perhaps he will turn up Friday to support us - you never know.

I am urging everyone who backs our campaign to get down to the Civic next Friday. We are in the Council Chamber there which holds over 150 people. Let's make sure all those seats are full and we send the Planning Inspector a clear message - Labours LDF is not welcome in Morley!


Morley protesters at Leeds Civic Hall



MBIs clean up in Morley!



New street cleansing barrow coming to Morley

 Street cleaners in Morley will shortly return to the Town Centre with a street cleaning barrow – a piece of equipment not used in Leeds for many years. The return to traditional street cleansing measures follows action taken by my colleague Councillor Judith Elliott who campaigned for the barrows to be returned on to Morley Streets.

The Street Cleaner with his brush and barrow was something many of us remember from previous years. This return to a traditional street cleansing approach is very welcome as I believe – as do many local residents – that this approach is a better way to keep our street clean.

The barrow should be seen in Morley Town Centre over the next couple of weeks. A similar approach to street cleaning still operates across neighbouring Kirklees Council.

This traditional approach will be more effective in clearing the streets of smaller items of rubbish and particularly cigarette tab ends. The brush and barrow allows the Street Cleaner to get right down to the nitty gritty and will allow us to keep the streets tidier. We are also looking at higher levels of enforcement and officers will be patrolling the streets to issue penalty notices to litter louts.

Although I am accused often of only having an interest in the heavy duty issues around Morley – such as Planning or Travellers sites – street cleansing is an area where we need to try harder – even in these cash strapped times – to improve the quality of life of local residents and to keep the town centre as tidy as we can.

The MBI colours of the street cleaning barrow are purely coincidental!

2nd class education?

This is a press release I sent to the local papers following yesterdays disgraceful Plans Panel decision on Daisy Hill Close.

A “u turn” on a controversial housing application on a Greenfield site in Morley by Labour Councillors on a Plans Panel will lead to a second class education for local children claimed a local councillor. Morley Borough Independent Councillor Robert Finnigan had convinced Plans Panel members to reject the application for 14 houses on the Daisy Hill Close site at its August meeting following a site visit but Labour Councillors reversed the decision at its meeting this week and agreed to give Developers Planning Permission.


Cllr Finnigan said “This application was refused last month as councillors accepted that the local schools had no space available to offer school places for the schoolchildren this site would generate. They also had concerns that this site is not sustainable because of poor bus services serving the location and overcrowded local trains. Planners confirmed this was the case at this month’s meeting but Labour councillors reversed their previous position and voted to accept it.”

Councillors were also given a report that confirmed the road network leading to Daisy Hill Close was inadequate and that some train were so full they could not take any passengers from Morley station.

Cllr Finnigan said “The greatest losers because of this decision will be local children. All primary and secondary schools in Morley will be full by 2016 with children already living in the community but this development – adding to the new developments of 177 houses on Bruntcliffe Road and 98 houses at Daisy Hill - will leave large numbers of schoolchildren with no place to go. The only option will be to increase class sizes or to crane in portacabins to deal with this increase. This is offering local children a second class education and this is not acceptable.”

This is the second time Labour Councillors have overturned a refusal decision. The controversial Daisy Hill application was initially refused last year but was brought back in front of different members who refused it at a later meeting.

Bedroom Tax abolition Campaign

The Morley Borough Independent are leading the campaign in Morley to abolish the Bedroom Tax. At next Wednesdays Leeds City Council meeting we will put up a resolution for the Council to support our campaign to have this unfair tax abolished.

Welfare Reform is necessary. There is no avoiding the fact that the welfare bill is too large and unaffordable and resources need to be better targeted. But the Bedroom Tax is not a fair or reasonable approach to this task. The Bedroom Tax penalises those in Council Housing that have bedrooms "spare". It is unfair and unacceptable as the Council does not have the properties to support tenants to downsize. Over the last month we have seen 6 tenants in our office, including disabled people, a family with a new born child and a full time carer all having problems with the Bedroom Tax. These are vulnerable people who have little if any choice to move. This is what makes the Bedroom Tax unacceptable.

My personal view is that the Bedroom Tax will collapse on itself when Judges - who have to agree to evict tenants for non payment of Bedroom Tax - fail to grant eviction notices because tenants don't have the cash to pay this rent element and alternative accommodation is not available. Until this happens - and the whole process is abandoned like the Poll Tax was - we need to campaign to get rid of it.

The Labour Party may take the moral high ground on this issue and bleat about its unfairness but have not confirmed nationally that they are prepared to abolish it. They should give a clear and unambiguous commitment to doing so. But trying to get Labour to commit to doing much is an almost impossible task.

We will see if the Comrades back our campaign next Wednesday. Lets hope they have the political spine to do so.

Cottingley Springs Planning Application arrives

This week we received news that the Planning Application for the expansion of Cottingley Springs Travellers site had been formally lodged. As readers will remember we have campaigned against this proposal from the start because of the impact it will have on local residents - especially Gildersome Village - and the lack of support form the Traveller Community.

The application clearly breaches both Central Government Guidance on Travellers sites - sites are suppose to be developed on brownfield sites - and against the City Councils Policy agreed by Executive Board this week which states Travellers sites should be near local facilities such as schools and shopping centres. This expansion on Greenbelt at Cottingely Springs fails all these tests. The only test if passes is making sure that no Labour held ward has to contribute towards resolving the Travellers issue by passing on the burden to other communities who they believe need to be punished for not voting Labour! Indeed you will hear many of the "Socialists" whinging on about how hard done by the Travelling Community is but that claim to solidarity is easily jettisoned at a point that they might have to explain to their residents that they might need to have Travellers site adjacent to them. Then they get rid of their "Socialist" credentials quicker than you can say Clause 4!

Unauthorised Travellers camps are a burden on hard pressed tax payers and an additional £1 million of tax payers money will be needed if planning permission is granted. Local residents will not accept paying out these large sums for a community they believe contributes very little to resolving their own problems.

Smaller sites may be the answer and other areas need to accept their fair share of the Unauthorised Traveller encampement burden. This means discrete sites - possibly on the edge of industrial estates - where Travellers can set up camp without the significant impact they have on local communities.

We will be gearing up again to do battle with this planning application. This has no support from either local residents or the Traveller Community. It is a political stitch up and must be stopped.

Daisy Hill Close Saved

Thursdays Plans Panel refused the housing application for 14 housing units at Daisy Hill Close in Morley. This was a good news story as Planning Officers had recommended granting planning permission but councillors - having hear from local residents and Ward Councillors - refused the application.

I spoke against the application and confirmed the problems with the site on highways grounds. I also raised concerns about the impact this and other developments would have on local schools and health centres along with the lack of public transport - especially a regular bus service - at this location.

It is clear that our ongoing campaign to save Morley greenfield sites is building momentum and this refusal - along with news about the Morley session on the LDF - should fill us all with hope that this ongoing battle is one we are making genuine progress with.

I know local residents will be pleased with this outcome as will MARC and Morley Town Council. We are becoming better equipped to put the arguments on greenfield development and we are beginning to influence the decision makers who are now listening to what we say.

We will continue to battle with Developers looking for an easy option when developing Morley's Greenfield sites. They will find us ready to battle to save every last blade of grass on Morley greenfield sites which are subject to inappropriate development.

LDF Public Examination News

Labour Leeds LDF under scrutiny in October

We have received confirmation that Morley will get its own session when Leeds City Councils Local Development Plan (LDF) is put under public examination in October. The news confirms that Morley is the only area that has succeeded in convincing the Planning Inspector - who carries out the examination- to examine individually the targets of over 7,000 new housing units across the greater Morley area.


Cllr Tom Leadley will be leading Morley’s representations against the 7,000 housing target. It is clear that the Planning Inspector took great note of the number of objections from Morley residents to Leeds City Councils LDF plan. Morley provided over 70% of all objections to the strategy and the Inspector wants to know why Morley has such significant concerns about it!

The Planning Inspector has laid down the areas which he wishes to discuss with objectors and the Council including the impact of this level of development on infrastructure across Morley including local roads, schools and health centres.

I am due to attend the Public Examination as it’s our job to make it clear to the Inspector the concerns our communities have about this level of overdevelopment. We will present our evidence showing that local schools will be full by 2016 and to confirm how congested our roads are. We need to make it clear that this level of development is not deliverable or sustainable.

The Public Examination will commence in October and is likely to take several weeks. At the end of the process the Planning Inspector has to confirm if the LDF is sound. If it is found to be unsound then Leeds City Council will be legally obliged to make fundamental changes to the plan.

It’s clear to us that this plan needs scrapping. Let’s hope it’s just as clear to the Planning Inspector!

Meeting with Planning Minister goes well!



Meeting with Nick Boles MP

I travelled down to Stanford in Linconshire last Friday for a meeting with the Planning Minister Nick Boles to discuss concerns about Labour Leeds City Councils LDF. I went down with Members of MARC (Morley Against Reckless Development) and Conservative PPC Andrea Jenkyns who had arranged the meeting for us.

Despite a rather traumatic journey down (roads works on the A1!) which took over two hours, the meeting with the Minister was a good one with Nick Boles genuinely interested in what we had to say.

We raised our concerns about the whopping 74,000 housing target imposed by Labour Leeds and Morley's unfair burden of over 7,000 housing units. We confirmed that Morley's schools were full, our roads were congested and Health Centres could not cope with this proposed level of development.

Nick Boles is the Minister who wrote the NPPF - the Governments guidance on planning matters which councils are obliged to follow as a matter of law - and gave us a valuable insight into how we could use the NPPF to develop our campaign to get the housing figures reduced. He also agreed with us that a lack of infrastructure - such as school places - should provide enough reason to refuse larger housing applications on greenfield sites.

I was surprised at the interest Nick Boles showed as you are often concerned that their only motivation is to get you out of their office as quickly as possible. In his case he was courteous and listened - giving everyone an opportunity to raise points and answer questions.

Our battle with the LDF continues and we believe we are better geared up to fight Labour Leeds City Councils Plan following our visit to Linconshire. I also raised the thorny issue of Cottingley Springs Expansion - but that a discussion for another day!

No surrender and the battle for Morley Greenfield sites goes on!

Cottingley Springs re-visited

I attended a public consultation  meeting to discuss the expansion of Cottingley Springs Travellers site held in Gildersome last Wednesday. I've declared it a sham. The meeting – attended by over 35 local residents who unanimously opposed the expansion proposal but were told by Leeds City Council officers that there was no alternative

Most residents believe this so called consultation process is a sham. Gildersome Parish Council oppose this plan, MBI Ward Councillors oppose this plan – as does Morley Town Council. Residents from both Gildersome and New Farnley oppose this plan. How can the consultation process be anything other than a sham when everyone is told that there is no alternative to this proposal and a planning application will be lodged shortly. It’s clear Leeds City Council is not interested in the views of local residents or councillors.

 The meeting was a stormy one with residents raising concerns about increased levels of anti-social behaviour if the site was extended, breaches of greenbelt planning policy and the fact that Leeds had looked at over 30 other locations for a site and could not come up with one alternative.

I am holding a further meeting to set up an action group to fight this proposal which will be held in Gildersome Meeting Hall on Wednesday 31stJuly at 7pm. I am aiming to bring tougher Gildersome Parish Council, Ward Councillors for Gildersome and New Farnley as well as local residents to co-ordinate the campaign to block this proposal. It appears that Leeds City Council is happy to dump this problem onto local residents rather than look for a sustainable and credible alternative.

I raised the issue with Nick Boules MP – the minister responsible for planning at a meeting he had with him last Friday. I have asked the Minister to investigate the application fully and to consider calling in the planning application.

Cottingley Travellers site to be expanded?

Leeds City Councils plans to expand Cottingley Springs Travellers site are to be discussed at a consultation meeting to be held at 6pm at Gildersome Meeting Hall on Wednesday 24th July.

I’ve been contacted by local residents about the proposal and I believe residents have legitimate concerns about the expansion of the Travellers site at Cottingley Springs. The village of Gildersome already suffers the impact of this large site on their doorstep and any expansion will mean an expansion of the problems they face.

The Morley Borough Independent Group has already confirmed its opposition to the proposals and has suggested that smaller site across other areas of Leeds is the answer to the blight of unauthorised Travellers sites.

We already have several small Traveller site across the Morley area as well as this large permanent site on our doorstep. It’s time for other areas in Leeds to take their share of this burden and accept some smaller sites in their neighbourhoods.

As regular readers will know I have called for the occupation of private land by Travellers to move from being a civil to a criminal matter. This is what happens in Eire and reduces the number of unauthorised sites as the Police then have the power to move Travellers on immediately without the often long delay in obtaining an eviction notice. This seems to me the easiest way to relieve residents of the blight unauthorised camps impose on them. No Government has yet had the backbone to introduce the same legislation the Irish have. Lets hope for better at the next General Election - but don't hold your breath!

Tingley LDF meeting

Over 7000 new homes for Morley?

I attended a good public meeting in Tingley last Monday arranged by local residents concerned about development of Greenfield sites off Westerton Road. Residents packed the British Oak in Tingley to raise their concerns about the impact on local schools, health centres and roads. They confirmed that local parents had received a letter from their local primary school who has confirmed that they school was full and there was no potential for expansion.


Residents were rightly fired up about this proposal and were critical of Ardsley and Robin Hood Labour councillors who had not involved the community on these issues. Readers will realise that the site specific document - which props up Labours LDF plan for 74,000 houses across Leeds - confirms where the housing will go.

It is clear that Labour - including our very own solitary Labour councillor Neil Dawson - backs these unrealistic and unsustainable proposals for over 7000 new homes across Morley increasing the size of Morley of about 50%!  It is equally as clear that local communities oppose them with the same passion!

We continue with our battle against the LDF and take it to the full City Council meeting on Monday. Our job is to unite communities across the wider Morley area in our campaign against the LDF.

No surrender!

Public Meeting a success!

Last Tuesday's meeting last Tuesday was a success with over 150 people attending the event. Speakers included our very own Cllr Tom Leadley - Morleys planning guru - along with Mark

Eastwood from Chidswell Action Group and Cllr David Blackburn - Green Party Councilor from Wortley.

All the speakers were critical of the recently published LDF site specific document which is out for consultation as they believe the proposal by Labour Leeds for over 7000 houses across the wider Morley area is unsustainable and will overwhelm local schools, roads and health centres.

A vote was taken at end of the meeting which overwhelmingly supported our campaign against Labour Leeds LDF proposals with the only dissenting voice coming from Labours solitary City Councillor Neil Dawson who refused to back the campaign for a second time.

As Kirklees LDF spirals into flames there is a confidence in communities that Labours crazy LDF proposals can be defeated.

The battle continues!

Public Meeting Tuesday 18th June at 7pm Morley Town Hall

LDF plan exposed by the Morley Ob

You may remember our campaign to oppose the plans from Leeds City Council for over 7000 new houses for the wider Morley area. We opposed this proposal as we believe local roads cannot take the additional traffic generated, local schools are full and cannot take additional pupils, local health centres would not be able to cope and we would loose large numbers of Greenfield sites across the wider Morley area.

We also opposed this plan as Leeds City Council has already granted planning permission for 22,000 new houses on mainly brownfield sites across the Leeds City Council area. Fewer than 2000 new homes were built over the last year across Leeds and we see no reason for releasing Morley Greenfield sites until all of these present planning permissions are used up.

Labour Leeds City Council has agreed a massive 74,000 new homes in their LDF plan. We were the only political group on the council to oppose this plan. Labours new site specific document shows the proposed location for the 7,000 + new houses Labour Leeds City Council has imposed on Morley – which includes Greenfield sites in Morley, Drighlington, Gildersome and particularly East and West Ardsley.

We want residents to attend our public meeting on Tuesday 18th June at 7pm at Morley Town Hall so we can hear their views on these plans.

I hope as many residents as possible will be able to attend.

Supermarket Levy - good for Morley?

Morley Town Centre

A proposal from the group Local Works is one we are supporting in Morley. Their idea is to use the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 to levy an additional charge on local large businesses and use that money to expand the rate relief to smaller businesses across town centres.

Many people put the demise of local town centres down to the growth of supermarkets. Indeed many traders in Batley argue that the introduction of a mega Tesco’s has left the town centre there stagnating. In Morley - although Morrison’s are quite dominant - we have a town centre which has many independent operators and is doing well in competition with its local rivals. This is down to the breadth of businesses operating cross the town centre, a decent market and a supportive Chamber of Trade and Town Centre Management Board.

It seems fair to me that the Supermarkets - who are making large profits even in these difficult times - ought to provide some support to smaller traders who are struggling to pay their business rates. This redistributive proposal provided the reliable finance to continue to support thriving town centres.

Let’s hope the City Council uses its powers to introduce such a levy when it is given the opportunity!

Kirklees LDF in crisis!



Cllr Judith Elliott outside Huddersfield Town Hall before speaking against Kirklees Councils LDF Plan

Kirklees Councils LDF has lurched into crisis following concerns raised by its Examining Inspector that they had not legally complied with their duty to co-operate. This duty - which means neighbouring councils need to speak to each other about their plans and the impact it will have on adjacent communities - was not clearly evidenced to the Inspectors satisfaction and the whole Plan has now been withdrawn.

This is good news for Morley as part of their bonkers plan was to build 500 houses (rising to 1500) and a large industrial estate at Chidswell in Dewsbury - immediately on the border with Morley. This would clearly have a significant impact on Morley schools, health centres and roads and the Inspector was concerned that no sensible plan had been agreed between councils about how this development could be made sustainable.
Labour Leeds City Councils Plan is up for a similar examination at the beginning of July where the same issue - the legal duty to co-operate - will also be examined. It is hard to see how Leeds Plan will pass this legal test when Kirklees Plan - especially on its impact on the Dewsbury Road corridor - was declared invalid because of the same lack of co-operation. Indeed I do not believe Labour Leeds LDF proposals for 8,000 new homes for the Morley area has been discussed with Labour Kirklees Council and its plans for up to 1500 new homes at Chidswell and a massive industrial estate. They both need to and deserve to fail.
It is clear that Planning Inspectors have not interest in fantasy planning and need to make sure that plans are realistic and deliverable. Labour Leeds City Councils LDF in unrealistic, unsustainable and undeliverable. It deserves to fail!

New Public Meeting called

We are continuing our campaign against Leeds City Councils LDF plan at a public meeting to be held on Tuesday 18th June at 7pm in Morley Town Hall. The meeting follows concerns raised by local residents about over development on Morley Greenfield Sites and the crisis of school places which is projected to leave many Morley families with no school places for their children after 2016 if housing development continues at its present rate.

The previous public meeting we held on the LDF was well attended and residents voted overwhelmingly to oppose the housing targets imposed on Morley by Labour controlled Leeds City Council because of the impact it would have on local infrastructure – such a schools, local roads and health centres. It was clear to residents that Morley will be overwhelmed by new development and unable to cope.

The meeting will look at a site specific document which will confirm which Greenfield sites across the Morley area are proposed for future housing development by Leeds City Council. This includes large sections of Churwell, Tingley and East Ardsley as well as significant housing sites proposed for Drighlington and Gildersome.

Cllr Tom Leadley will be providing residents with a presentation of the proposal. The 74,000 new homes proposed by Leeds City Council are not achievable or sustainable. We are not willing to give up Morley’s Greenfield sites for the sake of Developers profits. Local school, roads and health centres can barely cope with present demand. The demand of an additional 8000 new houses across Morley will overwhelm us all.

The meeting will also discuss the lack of school places in Morley from 2016 as Education Chiefs have confirmed that all Morley’s High Schools and Primary schools will be full with children presently in the system.

I hope as many residents as possible can attend and we can hear their views!



Glen Road 20mph zone

Morley Borough Independent Councillors have welcomed a proposal which could bring a 20miles an hour zone to Glen Road in Morley. The road, which runs through a large residential area, has been the subject of requests for speed reduction programme from residents for many years and will now form an initiative which will cover the whole of the Glen Estate.


Cllr Shirley Varley said “We know residents have raised their concerns about the amount of traffic using Glen Road and the speed motorists have travelled at. We have undertaken speed monitoring programmes with the Police and many motorists have reduced their speed as a result of this action. The introduction of a 20mph zone along Glen Road will allow us to bring down speeds further and this is good news for residents who live there.”

The relevant work is likely to be undertaken over the next few months and will include new traffic regulation orders and appropriate signage.

Cllr Judith Elliott said “The reduction in the speed motorists travel at on Glen Road is a priority that has been raised with us by local residents and the local tenant and residents group. We have raised this with Highways Officers and they agree that the area is an appropriate one for a reduced speed limit. This will make the roads safer for all – especially younger children and the elderly.”

More support for Morley Traders?



Morley Town Centre



We have welcomed a new business rate scheme which is being considered by Leeds City Council. If the scheme is adopted then new businesses in Morley may be able to claim 3 years of business rate reduction proposed at an 80% reduction for the first year of operation, 50% for the second and 20% relief for the third year.

We have been campaigning for the change for several years as this is exactly what new businesses in Morley need to help them to get established and provides that support through rate relief that can make the difference between a business surviving or going under. This is the kind of support we need to continue to maintain Morley as a thriving town centre.



The present national rate relief scheme has been criticised for offering support for micro businesses where the new scheme will support new independent traders who can show that their business has the potential to create new jobs.

My colleague Cllr Judith Elliott who sits on the Town Centre Management Board has said “This is what Morley Chamber of Trade has been asking for many years. We have previously met with the MP and the Business Rates section at Leeds City Council to lobby for this help for new businesses setting up in Morley. I am delighted our lobbying has been successful and this new programme has been proposed.”

The proposal will go out to consultation through the business community over the next few weeks with a decision taking on the scheme later in the year. I would hope that this is a no brainer and the sooner we get this support to out Town centre Traders the better!

The Battle for Chidswell Greenbelt

Morley Borough Independents support Chidswell Campaigners at Kirklees Council Meeting 

Morley Borough Independent Councillors have joined with campaigners form Chidswell in Dewsbury to oppose a new housing scheme proposed by the Church Commissioners for a 1500 house housing estate on greenbelt land at Chidswell close the border with Tingley. The proposal, which campaigners found lodged deep in supplementary representations to Kirklees Councils LDF Core Strategy, proposes a larger scheme than previously which was for industrial units and 500 houses.

Cllr Shirley Varley said “This is bad news for Morley and bad news for Tingley. An additional 1500 new houses at this location will mean Dewsbury Road becoming even more congested, local schools - especially Woodkirk High School - will become overwhelmed with students from outside the area and local health centre’s will be unable to cope.”

The new proposal will be considered at a public examination by a Planning Inspector later in the year where Morley Borough Independent Councillors and Morley Town Council are scheduled to speak against the plan.

Cllr Robert Finnigan said “The Church Commissioners seems to be putting profit before people. This is greenbelt land enjoyed by many residents in and around the Morley area. If we add these proposed 1500 housing units to the 7000 plus housing units proposed by Leeds City Council along the Dewsbury Road corridor then its clear local schools, roads and health centre will be unable to cope. Both Leeds and Kirklees LDF plans are not sustainable and we will campaign hard with our colleagues at Chidswell to make sure we do everything we can to block these proposals.”

Battling with Bookies and Developers



Owlers Farm



Morley Borough Independent Councillors have backed their colleagues on Morley Town Council who threw out planning applications from bookies William Hills and Developer Persimmons Homes at its planning meeting last Tuesday.

The Planning Committee refused an application for William Hills at a new site on Morrison’s precinct as it breached planning rules for Town Centres. The Persimmon Homes application was refused because of problems with access to the site and its lack of sustainability.

Cllr Shirley Varley – who attended the meeting said “We are fully behind our colleagues on the Town Council with these two planning refusals. We have significant concerns about the William Hills application which would be at a location that is used by many schoolchildren on their way to school. We believe this location is not appropriate for a bookies and will encourage more people to get into debt. We were particularly concerned that rumours are circulating that the shop will run mainly slot machines which often have a negative impact on the Town Centres.”

Over 20 local residents from adjacent to the proposed Owlers Farm Housing Development proposal attended the meeting to hear councillors unanimously oppose the application.

Cllr Judith Elliott said “We were delighted that residents came out to show their opposition to this proposal. We are aiming to get hundreds of objections to his proposal as local schools and health centres are full and local roads already congested. We are sending a clear message to Developers and Leeds City Council that Morley is full and cannot take this overwhelming level of development.”

Councillors have referred both decisions through to be taken by Leeds City Councils Planning Committee rather than delegating the applications to planners and site visits will also be undertaken before any final decisions are taken. Recently released figures show that Morley’s primary and secondary schools will be full by 2016 while also confirming planning permission had also been granted for over 20,000 housing units on mainly Brownfield sites across the Leeds City Council area.

McDonalds Battle continues

Morley Borough Independent councillors are gearing up for a further battle with McDonald's following news that their appeal against refusal of planning permission at Tingley has been ruled as legitimate. The appeal will be considered via written representations and a visit will be paid to the site before the Planning Inspector makes a final decision.

Cllr Shirley Varley said “Local residents are not prepared to be bullied by this large multi-national company. Their applications were refused on legitimate grounds, such as the impact on residential amenity and this is just their attempt to grind the local community into submission. We are not prepared to let that happen and we will be encouraging residents to again lodge further representations against McDonald's.”

McDonald's have lodge several controversial applications for a fast food take-away at the site of the White Bear pub in Tingley. Objections to the proposal topped the thousand mark as local residents cited problems with traffic generation, noise, litter and associated anti-social behaviour.

Cllr Judith Elliott said “We will continue to stand by local residents in their battle with this giant. This is the wrong location for such development and we will do everything in our power to make sure McDonald's do not win this appeal.”

Morley Elderly Action cash boost.

Morley Borough Independent Councillors are celebrating the decision to finance Morley Elderly Action for a three year project to provide gardening services for older and disable people who are unable to keep up to their gardens. The project, which provides a subsidised gardening service, was agreed at last Mondays Outer South Area Committee when councillors voted to support the project for the next three years.

Cllr Shirley Varley, who is a member of Morley Elderly Actions Management Board, said “This is good news for local pensioners. This scheme has operated very well over the last few years and hundreds of pensioners have been helped to keep their gardens manageable with the support of the scheme. This subsidised service has shown to be one of the best value for money schemes across the Leeds City Council area. I am delighted the amount of help and support we can give to pensioners will now increase.”

Councillors agreed the £32,000 package which will cover the Morley, Tingley and East Ardsley areas. Morley Elderly Action administers the scheme and use gardeners who have a good local reputation and are crb checked.

Cllr Tom Leadley said “We received numerous positive testimonials form pensioners who have been pleased with how the scheme has worked in the past. The project will now cover more hours which will mean more local residents will get the help they need to keep on top of their gardens.”

Campaign against Churwell Litter Louts

I have launched a campaign to crack down on fly tippers who are blighting a roadway in  Churwell. Local residents have raised their concerns about the high level of fly tipping that is blighting the Churwell section of Rooms Lane. We have had to spend thousands clearing this mess up. We need to look at ways of reducing this anti-social behaviour.

I have asked Leeds City Council to explore the options of blocking access to Rooms Lane as most of the fly tipping comes from litter louts dumping rubbish from the back of vans.

We cannot just continue clearing up this mess without seeking a permanent solution to these litter louts. This is an option we are exploring to see if blocking access is affordable and practical.

 

Owlers Farm campaign begins!

MBI Flyer opposing Owler Farm Development

Morley Borough Independent Councillors have commenced their campaign to prevent development on a greenfield site at Owlers Farm off Wide Lane in Morley. The large greenfield site has been proposed for housing development by Persimmons and local residents have raised their outrage about the application. Its our job to oppose it as fully as we can and a flyer will shortly be circulating encouraging residents to formally lodge objections to the proposal.

Readers of this blog will know that Morley Primary and Secondary Schools will be full by 2016 with children already living in Morley. The additional children this application will generate have nowhere to go to school if planning permission is granted. If we add to this the congestion on Wide Lane, the poor drainage and flooding record at this location and the inability of other infrastructure services - such as local health centres - to cope with this level of development then it is clearly an unsustainable site and contrary to the Governments new NPPF document.

Labour already seem to be throwing in the white flag and don't appear to want to battle with the Developers on this application. This is perhaps no surprise as local Labour Councillors - including Morley's only Labour City Councillor Neil Dawson - voted for the LDF and its targets of 7,000+ houses across Morley which can only be accommodated by ripping up our greenfield sites.

The need to rip up Morley Greenfield sites is questionable as Leeds City Council has already granted planning permission for over 21,000 housing units - mainly on brownfield sites - which have not yet been built. At an annual completion rate of less than 2000 units a year there is already enough planning permissions to cover present housing demand for over 10 years without disturbing a single blade of grass on any Morley greenfield site.

It will be interesting to see if Labour look both ways on this - voting for it at Leeds City Council while claiming to oppose it locally. We will see if Labour again capitulates to the Developers.

What this space!

Morley Fire Station - new campaign!

Morley Borough Independent Councillors have launched a new campaign aiming to block the introduction of staffing changes at Morley Fire Station which will mean no staff will be on site from 5pm at night through to 8am the following morning. This follows our successful campaign to prevent the closure of Morley Fire Station which was proposed by West Yorkshire Fire Authority late last year.

We have been regularly in touch with local firefighters and we share their concerns that daytime staffing will put local communities at risk. This will mean that should there be a fire incident or a road traffic accident between 5pm and 8am then Firefighters will not be on site at Morley Fire Station and will have to be called in from home. That would clearly put local communities and motorists at risk.

Figures provided to us show that West Yorkshire Fire Service has an additional £2.5 million to spend following the agreement to raise an additional £5 a year from council tax payers.

We have significant concerns about this new staffing structure and we believe that there has been no meaningful consultation around these new proposals. The last consultation closed before this new staffing arrangement was proposed. We are calling for meaningful consultations with local communities who will be put under threat by these arrangements.

We were to meet Firefighters at Morley Fire Station but the meeting was cancelled by Fire Chiefs without an explanation being offered. The Morley South Ward is regarded as high risk from fires by the Fire Authority. Morley Fire Station also covers the M62 and M621 corridor which has significant numbers of road traffic incidents.

This is almost like the closure of Morley Fire Station by stealth. It will be closed for 13 hours a day – over 50% of the time! We believe this will put local communities at risk. This decision can be reversed as new funding has been found which would allow the Fire Authority to continue with 24 hour a day staffing of Morley Fire Station.

We are due to meet the Fire Chief shortly and we will make sure we campaign hard to try and get this daytime staffing dumped!