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!