Labour betray Churwell

Leeds City Council has granted planning permission for a controversial planning application at Laneside Farm in Churwell. The decision – made by Labour Councillors at a Plans Panel Meeting last Thursday – means Developer Persimmons now has planning permission for 550 homes on the Greenfield site off Churwell Hill.

Cllr Robert Finnigan – who attended the Plans Panel meeting and spoke against the approval recommendation said “This is another example of Leeds City Council backing Developers instead of the local community. Almost 1000 local residents objected to this application along with the town’s MP Andrea Jenkyns, Morley Town Council and the Leeds City Council Ward Members who cover the Churwell area. It appears Leeds City Council is more persuaded by a wealthy developer than residents whose lives will be negatively impacted upon by this development.”

The planning report - which supported an approval decision - confirmed that there was not enough spaces in Morley primary schools to accommodate children generated by the site and proposed allocating places at primary schools in the Beeston area. The report also confirmed that the junction of Elland Road and the Ring Road was already loaded beyond its capacity and that the Development proposed by Persimmons would make problems of congestion worse.

Cllr Finnigan said “We had a sympathetic hearing from Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Green and MBI Councillors who all voted against this proposal. All of the Labour Councillors on the Panel voted to grant approval for this development despite the concerns of local residents. Morley has yet again been let down by Leeds City Council which has no interest in Morley other than to take more Council Tax from residents choosing to back a Developer who made over £350 million profit last year."

The 550 home development will be restricted to 240 new homes until a new primary school for Churwell is built and will need to contribute to a future proposal for a road improvement plan on the ring road.

Judgement Day

A decision on a planning application from the Developer Persimmons for 550 homes at Laneside Farm Churwell will be considered by Leeds City Councils Plans Panel next Thursday. The controversial application - which has attracted almost a thousand objections from local residents – will be considered by the Plans Panel with a Leeds City Council recommendation for approval.

Cllr Robert Finnigan led the Morley borough Independent Campaign against the application and is attending the Panel Meeting to speak against the proposal.

Cllr Finnigan said “This proposal – if approved – will lead to a loss of a valuable Greenfield site which provides a “greenbelt” between the communities of Churwell and Morley. We objected because of the significant impact this proposal would have on congestion on Churwell Hill, the lack of school and health centre places and the fact that most of the homes will be executive style housing not affordable homes for local residents.”

The Planning Officers report acknowledges the negative impact the site will have on traffic congestion on Churwell Hill and recommends an additional £1.5 million contribution to improve the junction of Elland Road and the Ring Road. The report also recommends that the site is restricted to a maximum of 220 homes until an additional primary school is provided.

Cllr Finnigan said “This site was supposed to be protected until at least 2028 and preserved as a Greenfield site. As a result of the failure of Labour controlled Leeds City Council to provide a 5 year land supply after agreeing an unrealistic housing target of 74,000 new homes by 2028 – developers are having a field day at the expense of local communities and local Greenfield sites. If this is agreed then it will bring the total of new homes agreed on Morley Greenfield sites to over 1200 new housing units without any additional investment in schools, health centres or roads.”

The campaign to oppose the development of Laneside Farm was also supported by local MP Andrea Jenkyns who raised her concerns about the application with the Planning Minister last week.

Cllr Finnigan said “I am delighted that Andrea has raised the overdevelopment of Morley directly with the Planning Minister. I know she opposes this development and supports a brownfield first approach where previously developed land should be used before turning to Greenfield sites. Leeds City Council has already granted enough Planning Permission for over 20,000 new homes across Leeds on mainly brownfield sites that have not yet been built and we all agree those sites should be prioritised instead of Greenfield ones.”