Our Siegen Manor Campaign

Morley Councillors have come together to oppose proposals to close Siegen Manor, a Morley based Leeds City Council care home that cares for people with dementia. The unified campaign follows a meeting with the families of residents at Siegen Manor as well as senior Adult Social Care Officers at the home last Friday.

We are joining the families of residents at Siegen Manor with their campaign to oppose closure of Siegen Manor. The home must stay open until high quality extra care accommodation can be provided in Morley for these residents with them all moving together as a community.

We quizzed Council Officers about the options to keep Siegen Manor open while new extra care facilities were opened in the Morley area. Officers were also asked about the additional £5 million which could be generated from April 2016 with new proposals for a 2% Adult Social Care levy on Council Tax bills.

 We are unified with residents and their families to find a positive alternative to the closure of Siegen Manor. We are looking for a similar agreement to the one we reached concerning Knowle Manor which keeps the home open until new high quality extra care places become available in the Morley area. It is important to keep this community together and to campaign for the best deal possible for these vulnerable residents.

Adult Social Care Officers agreed to consider the proposals raised at the meeting. The formal consultation process finishes at the end of December and campaigners have pledged to take to the streets of Morley to get the support of Morley residents.

We will be working with our fellow councillors and the families of residents to keep Siegen Manor open until the extra care accommodation become available in Morley which can take them as a community. We believe the new additional funds we will be receiving from the Council Tax levy can support this approach and we call on Morley residents to back our campaign.



MBI Councillors campaigned with residents to save Knowle Manor

MBI Tax Credit Campaign taken to Leeds City Council

Our campaign to stop Working Tax Credit cuts led to a debate at last Wednesdays Full Council Meeting at Leeds City Council.

I started the debate with support from all parties to campaign together to scrap the Governments proposed Working Tax Credit proposals which, if introduced, would mean many Morley families losing out financially. This support follows a similar debate last week at Morley Town Council where Councillors united in their opposition to the changes.

Welfare Reform is essential but the proposed changes will mean that hard working Morley families would be a lot worse off from April 2016. These controversial changes should be reconsidered and other ways need to be explored to make the tax credit system easier to understand while providing the support required for working families on low incomes.

The debate had contributions from all political parties with agreement reached across the political spectrum that the City Council would campaign to try and persuade the Government to abandon its proposals.

We will find out at the end of the month about new proposals the Government is proposing on Tax Credits but there needs to be a clear commitment to avoid reducing the incomes of Morley’s hardworking low income families.

Bruntcliffe Cemetery Improvement Plan

We have welcomed improvements at Bruntcliffe Cemetery following work to improve the footways. The work was completed following a campaign by Councillors to find the finance needed to undertake the improvements after they received concerns from families using the cemetery.

My colleague Cllr Judith Elliott says “I am pleased we have found the money needed to improve the footpaths across the cemetery. It has been difficult to identify the funds needed but a grant from Outer South Area Panel has meant we could get the work completed.”

Morley Town Council is also exploring using finance to improve Bruntcliffe Cemetery further once new funds from the Community Infrastructure Levy, a levy imposed on new development, start to be received.

Bruntcliffe Cemetery still needs some additional improvements and we are working with Bereavement Services to see what other help can be given.

McDonalds Further Public Meeting

A public meeting to discuss the fifth planning application from McDonalds for a fast food take-away at Tingley will be held on Tuesday November 10th at 7.30pm at Tingley Working Men’s Club. The meeting, which will discuss the controversial move from McDonalds, will also receive a briefing about a Public Inquiry scheduled for next March which will look into a previously refused application at the same site.

My colleague local Town Councillor Wyn Kidger – who represents the area, says “We are having to gear up again to battle with McDonalds for a fifth time. Their proposal for a McDonalds on the site of the White Bear pub has been refused four times before with a Planning Inspector also refusing a further appeal. We are again asking people to object to the new application.”

A previous application was refused by a Planning Inspector because of the impact the fast food drive through take-away would have on residential amenity. Following their fourth refused application, McDonalds appealed and the matter will be considered at a Full Public Inquiry in March 2016. Local residents will be represented at the Inquiry by MBI Councillors who have been granted Rule 6 Party status which allows them to cross examine witnesses supporting McDonalds case.

My colleague Cllr Judith Elliott comments “We need residents to continue to back the campaign to prevent this McDonalds take-away in a residential area. There are many other locations where this development could take place – such as Morley Town Centre. Placing it in a residential area impacts on residents. The proposal brings additional traffic problems, litter and noise which are not appropriate for a residential location.”

Public Meeting Called

Hundreds of residents turned up to the last LDF meeting

We have called a public meeting to discuss Leeds City Councils controversial Site Allocations Plan which could lead to several Morley Greenfield sites being allocated for future housing development.

The meeting, which will be held on Tuesday 27th October in Morley Town Hall at 7pm, will give residents a briefing on the Site Allocations Plan and will give them an opportunity to lodge objections against the allocation of Greenfield sites for future housing development.

The target from Leeds City Council of 7,200 new housing units across the Greater Morley area can only be achieved by ripping up Morley Greenfield sites. This means previously developed brownfield sites, which need regenerating, get left behind and the houses we are presently being offered are Executive Style 4 bedroomed homes – not affordable homes for local residents.

Speakers opposing the plan include Morley Town Councillors along with Parish Councillors from Drighlington and Gildersome.

Gildersome is facing proposals on greenfield sites behind Street Lane and Highfield Drive. The village is presently struggling to cope with additional traffic especially that which will be generated by the Industrial Estate recently granted planning permission on Asquith Avenue. Both Greenfield sites are enjoyed by Gildersome residents and their loss and subsequent building development will place exceptional strain on roads, local schools and the health centre.

A previous meeting to discuss the Local Development plan attracted over 500 people with 75% of all objections to the Plan coming from the Morley area.

Important Greenfield sites such as Laneside Farm in Churwell and Spring Gardens in Drighlington are under threat. We need communities across Morley to come together to make sure their objections are recorded and we get Leeds City Council to reconsider these barmy proposals

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New Village Way Churwell update

Another Morley Greenfield under threat

Over 60 local residents attended a public meeting last week at a Churwell Community Centre to back a campaign opposing the planning application for 57 new houses on New Village Way in Churwell.

At a packed meeting residents raised their concerns about the impact the proposed development would have on the present road network. They were also concerned that local schools and health centres would not be able to cope with the increased numbers of residents generated by the proposed development as well as the impact the development would have on an already congested Churwell Hill.

Residents are clear in their opposition to this development and are working with us to do everything they can to have this application refused. This is a valuable Greenfield site and putting new houses on this site could mean another Morley Greenfield is lost while local infrastructure continues to struggle to cope.

Planners have concerns about the proposal because of the impact on noise, the layout of the houses and the reduction in available green space.

I understand a decision is likely to be made over the next 6 to 8 weeks and I would urge anyone who still has concerns about this proposal to lodge a formal objection as soon as they can.

LDF battle continues!

Morley Borough Independents are gearing up for a further Local Development Framework campaign following an announcement that the site specific proposals will go out to public consultation at the end of the month.

The new campaign, to include a public meeting, will involve local residents working with Councillors to put in objections to proposals to allocate Morley Greenfield sites for future housing development.

We are gearing up for another battle with Developers and we are calling on local residents to join us to defend Morley Greenfield sites which are under threat from these proposals.

Morley Greenfields that are under threat include Laneside Farm in Churwell, land to the rear of Highfield Drive in Gildersome, Spring Gardens in Drighlington as well as sites in Tingley.

The target for the Greater Morley area is 7,200 new housing units with a Leeds wide target of over 74,000. Much of this unrealistic and unsustainable proposal is on Greenfield Sites with little priority being given to previously developed brownfield land. It is clear that local schools, roads and health centres cannot cope with this level of overdevelopment. Our campaign will look towards saving these precious Greenfield sites from executive style housing development and focus on delivering affordable homes on previously developed brownfield sites.

The consultation period starts on 22nd September and continues for an 8 week period. A public meeting to discuss the plan will be held in October.