Low Moor Farm - Labour betray Morley Folk again!

I have reacted angrily to Leeds City Councils recent planning decision to grant planning permission for 200 houses on Low Moor Farm in Morley which will leave Morley children receiving a second class education. This further Labour Betrayal - the Tories, Greens and MBIs voted against it - is exactly what we expect but on this occasion they entirely ignored their own comrade Neil Dawson who also opposed it. Shows you what influence he has on his own Party!

Children’s Service, who sort out places for local children at primary schools across Morley, have already confirmed that there are 30 children who cannot be guaranteed places at local primary schools next year. This planning decision, supported only by Labour councillors, will generate an additional 50 primary school children who cannot be offered a primary school place across Morley as all primary schools are full!

As schools are already full the only way of providing primary education is by craning in portacabins to accommodate the children generated by the development.

It is accepted by most educationalists that educating children in portacabins has a detrimental impact on the learning experience for children. This decision resigns Morley children to a second class education. Labour Leeds City Council allows developers to rip up more Morley Greenfield sites without having the infrastructure – schools, roads and health centres – to accommodate the additional residents these new housing estates bring.

7,200 new housing units target confirmed

The housing target for the Greater Morley area up to 2028 has been confirmed at 7,200 new housing units at Leeds City Councils Executive Board meeting last Wednesday. The new target, for the Outer South West Housing Market Characteristic area which includes Morley, was confirmed at 11% of the Leeds District Wide total.

This is a disappointing decision by Leeds City Council as this target can only be reached by ripping up Morley Greenfield sites such as Laneside Farm in Churwell and Low Moor Farm in Morley. Local residents are already aware that schools are full, roads are congested and health centres unable to cope with the patients they presently have registered with them. This additional burden of new housing will overwhelm local infrastructure.

The proposals from Leeds City Council Executive Board will now go out to consultation for local communities to comment. The Site Allocation Plan will then be considered at public hearings by a Planning Inspector later in the year who will have the final say on the proposals.

We will again be gearing up to attend the public hearings in the Autumn to put our case to save as many Morley Greenfield sites as possible which are under threat from this overwhelming housing target. Greenfield sites from Drighlington across to East Ardsley could be lost if we cannot persuade the Planning Inspector to reduce the impact of new housing across Morley.

We are supporting initiatives that bring affordable homes to Morley and are having discussions with Developers about how new bungalows can be brought to Morley for older and disabled residents,

We need more affordable homes for local people, especially families and older and disabled residents. This plan offers us unaffordable executive style housing which does nothing to resolve the housing crisis we have in our area. We will be doing all we can to get a housing plan for Morley which is sustainable and provides for the real housing needs of local people.

I have called for a review of road safety and speed limits following a further accident at an accident black spot in Drighlington. The black spot, at the junction of Moorlands Road and Station Road in Drighlington, has seen several serious road accidents over the last two years and residents are calling for action to be taken to make the roads and junction safer.

This is a location that we have had some concerns about for some time. We are already looking at the junction to see what improvements can be made but with this further accident over the weekend it is clear that a full review of the roads and junction needs to be undertaken to include speed limits around the village.

I am arranging a site visit with Highways Officers and Drighlington Parish Council to explore the options for changes to speed limits and junction markings.

We will be working closely with the Parish Council and local residents to explore every practical option available to use to make the roads in Drighlington safer.

Supporting Joseph Priestley College

Morley Town Councillors pledged their support to retain Joseph Priestley College courses in the town at last week’s Town Council Meeting. The support pledge follows a formal announcement that the Colleges’ Peel Street campus is to be closed down due to funding cuts.

The Town Council felt it was important we did everything we could to support the College to continue with providing courses in the Morley area and we are looking at local buildings to see if they can be used for this purpose.

I have met with College Staff at Morley Town Hall to see if any of the space within the Town Hall could be used to support the proposal.

The Town Hall is underused and we would welcome the opportunity to work in partnership with the College to see if they could make any use of the space within the building. The further education courses the College runs are essential for many of our local residents. We will do everything we can to work with the College to find a viable solution to the challenges they face with offering an educational presence in Morley.