Bruntcliffe Road Campaign Continues

Morley Borough Independent Councillors are to oppose an application for housing development on Bruntcliffe Road from Barratt homes. The site, adjacent to Scott Lane, is a Greenfield site which was subject to an application in the past for an industrial estate.

Cllr Judith Elliott said “We are consistent in opposing any development on this Greenfield site. Bruntcliffe Road cannot take the additional traffic and housing on this site will put unrealistic demands on local schools and health centres which will be unable to cope. Although this proposal it at a pre-application stage we believe it is important to state our opposition from the start.”

The site was allocated for development by the then Labour controlled Leeds City Council in 2001 but, following a change in administration at Leeds City Council, renewal permission was refused in 2007.

Cllr Shirley Varley said “It is clear from talking to local residents that this application for housing is not welcomed. This site provides a valuable Greenfield oasis along this busy highway corridor and to lose it would remove a valuable community asset.”

The Development has the backing of Morley Labour Councillors who support the previous Labour Governments housing targets of 43,000 homes over the next ten years based on targets Labour agreed in the RSS in 2009.

The Developers held a stormy pre-application information evening at St Andrews Church Hall where residents condemned the housing application as unacceptable.

Bruntcliffe Road Housing Application - letter from MBI Councillors

Dear Resident,

You will be aware of proposals to bring a residential development to a Greenfield site on Bruntcliffe Road. We are writing to you to confirm our opposition to this application.
As many residents will remember we campaigned against an industrial estate on this site and were successful in persuading Leeds City Council to refuse planning permission when it came up for renewal in 2007.
We believe Bruntcliffe Road is too busy to accommodate the additional traffic generated by this proposed development and we are also objecting as the site is not sustainable because local schools and health centres cannot accommodate the additional children this site will bring. This Greenfield site serves a useful purpose in providing a green corridor – the only Greenfield area along this stretch of road - and the location supports local leisure activities including walking.
This application in is a result of previous decisions taken by Labour Councillors on Leeds City Council who agreed the development of the site for housing in 2001. Developers also feel confident with this application because of support given by the previous Labour Government – including local Labour MP Ed Balls – who agreed unrealistic higher housing targets of 46,000 new houses in the area over the next decade.
This application has not been formally lodged at this point but we would urge all residents to voice their opposition. Together we can win this campaign and retain this useful Greenfield site for future generations.
Yours truly


Cllr Judith Elliott and Cllr Shirley Varley

Morley Borough Independent Councillors

Councillors addresses LDF meeting

Councillor Judith Elliott addressed a full meeting of Kirklees Council at their recent LDF meeting to speak passionately against the development at Chidswell in Dewsbury. As readers will know this is an area of greenbelt land adjacent to Tingley and will - if developed as proposed by Labour controlled Kirklees Council - mean additional housing and industrial units on the 40 hectare site bringing chaos to Dewsbury Road and additional demand on Morley schools and health centres.

Many protesters turned up to campaign against Labour selling out local greenbelt and Cllr Elliott appeared on Calendar protesting against the proposal.

Despite her fine rhetoric the Labour controlled Council agreed to support development of this greenbelt site - regardless of the 1200 person march the previous week to protest at the proposal. I suspect Labours chances of holding the relevant Dewsbury seat are somewhat reduced as local residents will see it as Labour treachery when they gave assurances on defending greenbelt land.

And what about our own Leeds Labour City Councillors? Did they turn up to protest? Did they debate the issues with their Kirklees Labour Councillors? Not a bit of it. As ever they were nowhere to be seen and their contribution to the campaign appears to be sending a letter!

The battle continues with a final decision way down the road. LCC will be asked to lodge a formal objection and we will continue to campaign with our close neighbours to defeat this greenbelt betrayal.

Chidswell Rally

My colleagues Cllr Judith Elliott and Tom Leadley joined me for the Chidswell Rally held last Saturday just over the Kirklees Border in Dewsbury. As readers will be aware, this greenbelt land is a proposed site for 1500 homes and large scale industrial development backed by Labour controlled Kirklees Council. As you would expect many people are very unhappy with this and over 1200 locals - including residents from Tingley and Morley - joined together to campaign against these proposals.

Any wide scale development at this location would have significant implications for Morley's schools, health centres and other community facilities with congestion worsening on Dewsbury Road.

Cllr Elliott addressed the rally and was greeted with a positive response when she confirmed the Morley Borough Independents opposition to plan contained within Kirklees LDF proposals. She also confirmed she would be attending Kirklees Council next Wednesday to speak against the plan. A decision will be taken at the same meeting.

Of course local Leeds Labour Councillors could not be bothered to attend neither could Morley's illustrious MP who was also absent. But that is no real surprise as Morley Labour Party back their RSS figures of over 4,000 homes a year. This can only be delivered by digging up greenfield sites such as Chidswell.

We will continue to battle against Labours LDF proposals. Opposition is growing and there is still everything to play for. We owe it to our communities to dig in for the long haul and defend all greenbelt land with all the vigour we can muster!

Siegen Close Crime Prevention Programme

Readers may remember that Siegen Close came under a major attack from metal thieves earlier in the year. Lead was stripped from canopies above many residents front doors and this led to much concern among local residents - many of whom are elderly.

The crime prevention programme was subject to a visit from Sir Norman Bettison - Chief Constable of West Yorkshire - who instigated a campaign to reduce metal thefts in the area.

Our job was to respond to the concerns raised by residents and to make the area safer by reducing the potential for crime. This included the impregnation of the replacement lead with a chemical which makes the metal worthless, additional Police patrols and the fitting of dawn to dusk security lights to the rear of some properties to light up darkened areas at night.

My colleagues Cllr Judith Elliott and Cllr Shirley Varley have worked closely with local residents to deliver these changes and are also supporting the formation of a residents group.

This has been a valuable community led process and we are grateful for the support we have received from local residents. We will be monitoring closely to make sure crime levels are further reduced in Siegen Close and across the rest of Morley.

Why Chidswell matters to us!

Followers may well be aware of the proposal via Kirklees Councils LDF for 1500 houses and 35 Hectares of Industrial Units on Greenfield and Greenbelt land at Chidswell in Dewsbury. Some local residents may shrug their shoulders and say "so what - its doesn't impact on us." But it does!

The first problem is the lack of sustainability at the location. Dewsbury Road already gets horribly congested and having additional traffic - both residential and industrial - will increase congestion along with pollution levels. It will add traffic to Tingley Roundabout which is already one of the worst accident black spots in the area ( and one of the reasons for the recent refusal of the McDonald's Takeaway planning application)

Secondly it will put greater demand on local high school and primary school places with Woodkirk High and Hilltop and Westerton Primaries in the firing line. All such schools are presently full and the controversy would be horrendous if local Tingley and Morley children were displaced to accommodate kids from Dewsbury.

Thirdly we have large sections of local industrial estates, such as at Howley Park, half empty that can accommodate new industry without digging up a single blade of grass. It is absolutely bonkers to be proposing development of greenfield sites while other capacity exists.

Fourthly the housing allocation is based upon the barking proposition of targets agreed by the last Labour Government (including Ed Balls MP) and supported by the local Labour Party in Morley which inevitably means ripping up greenfield sites! Normal people recognise that brownfield sites need to be developed first and that we have enough brownfield land to accommodate housing growth at its present rate to last for over a decade.

And what about the Labour Party on this issue? Labour controlled Kirklees Council backs the proposal. The six Labour Councillors that cover the area in Leeds refused to turn up to a recent public meeting and their silence is deafening on the matter. Our very own Labour Councillor Neil Dawson backs the RSS targets so supports the proposals to rip up greenbelt land.

What can we do? This is not a done deal. Objections can still be lodged and MBI Councillors will be joining the rally against this proposal next Saturday on the 11th November. We have also asked to address the full Council Meeting at Kirklees where the final decision will be made.

It a question of keeping battling!

New 20mph zone is a good news story!

The newly introduced 20 mph zone on Fountain Street is a good news story. It slows the traffic down on Fountain Street and keeps students using Fountain Primary and Morley Academy safer. The scheme - which is part of a Government pilot project - reduces the speed limit across a specific area and will be rolled out to other areas after it is fully assessed and the results are clear.

A similar scheme is to be introduced into Gildersome with the aim of slowing traffic that flows past both primary schools in the village and a further road marking scheme for Churwell Primary also offers a safer traffic environment for children and parents.

So you'd think that everyone would be happy with this. Apparently not the Labour Party! At a recent Town Council meeting the whole Labour group voted against an MBI amended resolution welcoming the change. Unbelievable!

We have worked hard on traffic safety schemes and the new system we delivered on Britannia Road seems to be working well as car speeds are reduced because of road narrowing measures. We still have work to do and a road safety programme for Wide Lane close to the school is working it way through the processes.

Highways concerns will always be an issue and with increasing car numbers on roads aligned to a large group of intolerant and ant-social drivers around I suspect we will have plenty of work to do in the future.

Defending Morley Greenfield Sites

The news of a new housing development proposal on Daisy Hill in Morley comes as no real surprise. The site, which was allocated by the Labour Party for Housing Development when they voted for the UDP in 2001 has been kept green by strong resistance put up by the Community and the MBIs. This battle hotted up when Labour - with the full support of local MP Ed Balls - agreed higher housing targets in the Regional Spatial strategy in 2009 ( a decision supported by local Labour Councillor Neil Dawson). These new targets were to be abolished said the incoming Tory/Lib Dem Government but they failed to take the legal action to do so.

This leaves us in a mess as Labours Housing Targets - although clearly unrealistic - are used by Developers to claim that greenfield sites - such as Daisy Hill - need to be handed over for development to reach these bogus targets. The Developers took legal action and won when a judge - equally as barking as many of his associates - agreed that such housing targets were legal and that planning appeals should therefor be shelved!

Leeds completed about 1000 new homes over the last year , 3000 below these bogus Labour targets. The 3000 unbuilt ones are carried over to next year which means an additional 7000 need to be built to keep up. Clearly Developers will cherry pick the best sites and avoid brownfield ones where real regeneration needs to take place.

Labour continue to moan and carp even though this is a problem of their own making. To satisfy their targets will inevitably mean giving up greenfield sites and this means Morley's eight greenfield sites are presently under real threat.

The choice in Morley is a clear one. You can either back Labours approach which means Morley Greenfield sites are doomed as they sprint to achieve their targets or back an MBI alternative which will put future housing development on brownfield sites and save greenfield sites for future generations.

Skate Park News

The new skate park for Morley is back on track following a recent meeting to discuss the financing of the improvement programme. The cash is now sorted and the final plan is out for some minor tweaking by the young people who initiated the proposal and whose ideas are being accommodated in this plan.

It has been a hard slog to bring the finance together - especially in this difficult financial climate - and many people have been sceptical that this plan could be delivered. But the plan is to be implemented later this year - weather permitting - with the new skate park available next Spring. The support (and patience) of young people and other residents has been much appreciated and the whole process with community involvement has been a positive one with the final plan much improved through their input.

It has been suggested that I give it a crack myself on a skate board when it is completed but opponents may be disappointed that I have no intention of breaking my neck just yet!

Here's to happy skating in the future!

Knowle Manor success!

Regular readers of this blog will wonder where I've been for several weeks prior to this entry. I've had a couple of weeks break and then been working hard behind the scenes to get the above campaign to impact upon LCC decision making process.I'm delighted to say that after the support of thousand of Morley Residents, a rally outside the Town Hall, support from the residents from the home itself, Look North, Radio Leeds and my MBI Colleagues we have been able to keep Knowle Manor open while brand new, purpose built accommodation is provided for all Knowle Manor residents who will move together as a community. My target is an extra care unit in Morley which will accommodate both staff and residents at Knowle Manor. I have visited similar schemes and they are a real asset to local communities.What can we say about the politics of it all? The Dilnot Commission confirmed that the previous Government cut funding for Adult Social Care from 2006. It also confirmed that all Governments have underfunded Adult Social Care for many years which - along with demographic changes - has left adult Social Care as the Cinderella service it is today.My thanks go out to Tony Moorhouse who was the super campaigner from the home and Cllr Shirley Varley whose knowledge and insight has helped us to deliver a campaign that has been a real community success!

E Petition on line!

I have been attempting to lodge an e petition with HM Government for several months but unfortunately the HM Gov Website has been blocking the request for a while because of technical problems.

These now seem to have been resolved and the Governments e petition website went live last week with a certain amount of interest shown by the national media. My e petition is an attempt to get the law changed on Travellers to allow an early eviction when they illegally occupy sites. Presently this trespass is a civil matter and requires a court order (which can often take several days) before an eviction takes place. This change would make such trespass a criminal offence and allow the Police the powers to evict Travellers immediately following a request from the landowner. This approach is used in the Irish Republic and appears to have been very effective in reducing this blight.

The recent unauthorised site in Gildersome is a clear reminder that firmer action needs to be taken and that this change is long over due. We cannot continue to publicly subsidise the poor behaviour communities have inflicted upon them by Travellers occupying land illegally.

You can support the petition by going to http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/1309

Whingers revisited

It often makes me laugh when those that claim their rights to free speech do all they can to stimey the same rights for others. A good example of this is the complaint made against me by failed Ex Conservative Councillor Paul "mines a pint" Jamieson to the Standards Board in Leeds.

Now the Standards Board oversees the behaviour of Councillors and can take action - up to an including banning Councillors from a Council - if their behaviour breaches the Councillors Code of Conduct.

Of course they are not there to suppress a councillors right to speak out against their political opponents and in Jameson's case they threw out his bogus complaint. A recent report confirmed that each bogus complaint costs over £1000 to investigate. Not that that bothers Jamieson as a non income tax payer as he can always get others to foot the bill! You watch as the man raves on Facebook about the cruelty of it all!

That reminds me of another tale of Jameson's involvement in a money making scam involving a Town Clerk - but that will save for another day.

Making Criminals Pay

We are presently looking into a crime prevention programme for Siegen Close in Morley following the theft of lead from several canopies that are fixed above many residents front doors. As many of the residents are elderly, the thefts - often in the thick of night - is distressing and upsetting.

The theft of lead from this location - which is driven by high prices for precious metals at scrap dealers - can be combated by replacing the lead with a less valuable alternative or impregnating it with Smartwater - which is a substance that cannot be cleared off the metal but gives it a unique reference marking which can be traced back. It also marks the thieves as well if it is touched.

To make residents safer we are also exploring a small CCTV scheme for the location. Readers will know that I am a big supporter of such schemes and it would seem to be a practical option as the close only has one real way in and out.

But in these difficult financial times where would we get the cash? Well the Proceeds of Crime Act - which allows the Police to confiscate luxury goods from convicted criminals and use the proceeds to fight crime is an option. Local Police chiefs do have some funds to support local crime reduction initiatives and we are exploring the options for this fund to support our plan.

We are hopeful that a plan can be agreed between all residents, the Police and Leeds City Criminal - making the criminal pay to deliver a safer neighbourhood!

People that do and people that write pompous letters to the papers

I recently had the pleasure of walking through Clark Spring Wood in Churwell following some excellent work carried out by local volunteers that look after and improve the woods. The volunteers - who are part of the radical Environmental Wing of Churwell Action Group - have been working over the years to repair and improve the Woods returning it to the community as a real diamond of an environmental asset.

Both Steve and Janet have but in many hours of unpaid work and it shows! The picture at the top of this article shows the tangible benefits they bring with the newly repaired bridge along with improved benches and an improved woodlands management plan. Local schoolchildren benefit and are involved in the improvement process with the support of their teachers and parents and the project gives them a real sense of ownership of the Woods. This in turn makes them local custodians and reduces the risk of larger scale vandalism as siblings are admonished for targeting "their woods."

This commitment to getting off your back side and doing something rather than just moaning contrasts starkly with the failed politicians and professional moaners who fill the letters pages of our newspapers. There are many groups across Morley who do brilliant jobs - whether that's Morley in Bloom, Churwell Action Group or Morley Elderly Action. These organisations were operating way before the Big Society was even a concept. They were and are motivated by a drive to improve their communities. More power needs to go to all such groups who are getting the work done.

We will leave others to moan and gibber and write pompous letters to the papers.

Site secure - but the Campaign goes on!

I visited the Springbank Road yesterday which was the site of an illegal Traveller occupation last week. I was pleased at the work the Parks and Countryside Division had undertaken to clean up the site and it has now been made secure with robust fencing to prevent re-occupation in the future. The new fencing is made of strengthened steel but will also blend, after a bit of weathering, to prevent the site looking like a prison camp.

I was told by the P and C section that they had spent over £50,000 this year in cleaning up sites devastated by Travellers and this has focused my mind on the campaign to change the law on Travellers. The change would allow an immediate eviction instead of the present civil process where a court order has to be obtained and days pass before an eviciton is granted. During this period the community is saddled with outrageous anti-social behaviour from Travellers.

I am aiming to set up an on line petition when it becomes available on the Direct Gov government site sometime in July. This allows people to show their support for this change and - if you reach 100,000 signatures - there is a pledge for the issue to be debated in Parliament. I still have to get the proposal through some Civil Servants to get the petition on line but - if this hurdle can be cleared and not blocked by some pc obsessed bureaucrat - it should be possible to build up some momentum for this change.

Keep checking this blog for updates on the campaign.

Travellers violate Gildersome Residents

The Travellers who invaded Springbank Playing Fields in Gildersome were finally evicted last Thursday following the obtaining of a court order. As ever with this "Community" they left a pile of devastation and mess for others to clear up.

It is now time to stop the weak and feeble approach we presently adopt which obliges us to obtain a court order while Travellers violate local communities and refuse to play by the same rules reasonable people comply with.

Travellers contribute nothing to their local communities. They have access to all the benefits - both metaphoric and financial - without contributing a penny in direct taxation. They avoid being held accountable for their vile anti-social behaviour because of a reluctance of the Authorities to confront them for fear of accusations of racism or heavy handed policing.

The Republic of Ireland changed the law on Trespass with a caravan over 5 years ago making it a criminal and not a civil offence. This allows the Police to evict immediately without the need for a Court Order. Apart from the inevitable bleatings of the Travelling community the overwhelming reaction of the majority of residents in Eire is that it has improved the quality of their lives immensely.

Travellers have no one to blame for their poor reputation other than themselves. The mountain of mess they left at Gildersome reconfirms residents views that Travellers deserve little if any sympathy. Communities are looking to the Government to take firmer action to prevent this blight. Lets hope Westminster is listening!

Knowle Manor Rally a success!

Saturdays rally against the closure of Knowle Manor was a real success with over 100 people attending to show their support for our campaign. Speakers included Tony Moorhouse, a resident at Knowle Manor resident, Merle Stead, a long time Morley campaigner for pensioners rights and my colleagues Judith Elliott and Terry Grayshon.

Speaker after speaker questioned the closure of this excellent residential care home - the only residential care home in Morley with an excellent rating. Tony's contribution was that he was given promise 8 years ago when he moved in that he would have a home for life and that that promise should be kept.

Up to press we have collected over 1000 signatures against the closure. We have called for the closure programme to be scrapped and we will force a vote on this issue at next months Full Council Meeting.

Two amusing postscripts are worth noting on this matter.

The first is the Labour Party's attendance after the work had been done just in time for the photographer followed by their just as quick disappearance when the photographer had gone while the rest of us continued to campaign. The second was the appearance of failed Tory Councillor Paul "make my a pint" Jamieson and failed wannabe politician Nigel "moanalot" Bywater. Their attendance just to watch - as long as no work was involved - is worth noting.

The Knowle Manor campaign will only be won by ongoing hard work. We will be out again next weekend to collect more signatures with an aim of breaking the 2000 mark!

Knowle Manor Campaign Update

We spent an excellent Saturday morning campaigning to keep Knowle Manor open outside Morley Town Hall. We had a very positive response and spoke to one of the workers at Knowle Manor as well as the daughter of the oldest resident there.

People were raising their concerns following the announcements of the financial problems facing Southern Cross Private Care provider (which has homes in Leeds) and the outrage they felt at the abuse of youngsters with learning difficulties at a private run hospital and home in Bristol.

People were queuing up to sign our petition and many promised to turn up at next weeks rally on Saturday 11th June at 11am in front of Morley Town Hall. We have lined up several speakers to speak up for the retention of the Knowle Manor.

Further analysis shows that Council Care Homes in inner city wards - that is those in Labour areas - are to be retained despite having lower care ratings than Knowle Manor has. Those of you with a cynical attitude may sense some political chicanery and I have to agree.

And what about the Labour Party? Were they campaigning hard to save Knowle Manor by collecting signatures on a petition - or building support for our rally! Nothing of the sort. They were campaigning but campaigning to save Ed Balls MP as they stuffed envelopes for yet another mail out to an unwilling audience.

The Morley Borough Independents have formally requested that this closure proposal should be withdrawn. A resolution will also be put to the new Full Council meeting which will call on the whole programme of closures across Leeds to be withdrawn following the Southern Cross and Panorama revelations. Lets hope the present Labour controlled Leeds City Council listen!

Save Knowle Manor Campaign

Morley Folk will be aware of the proposed closure programme for Knowle Manor in Morley. Knowle Manor is an older persons residential home run by Leeds City Council. The new Labour controlled Leeds City Council proposed closure regardless of the fact that the home is in good condition and has an Excellent rating from the Care Quality Commission. Many of the residents are elderly and disabled with the oldest resident being 102 years old.

We have said closure is unacceptable and formally called for the closure plan to be abandoned. News today shows that the troubled Private Care provided Southern Cross operates in the Leeds area and has over 300 beds which are under threat. One of the arguments for closure of Knowle Manor is that the Private sector can do things more cheaply and there is "overcapacity". This statement has to be challenged following the news of Southern Cross as well as the Panorama programme which exposed care deficiencies from another Private "Care" provider.

We are campaigning hard against closure and will be taking signatures on a petition to request Leeds City Council abandons closure of this much needed and loved local resource. We have a rally planned for Saturday 11th June at 11am and we call on residents to attend to support out campaign.

All that's left is to apportion blame for the present financial mess which has led to this closure proposal. There is little doubt that the new CON-Lib Government is attempting to cut the deficit too quickly and that is causing pain. But the main responsibility lies with the previous Labour Government for creating the Deficit in the first place - and this includes our own local MP Ed Balls. Labours suggestion that its "nothing to do with me Guv!" is dishonest and they should accept their part in the present problems Knowle Manor faces. Their recent election material claims we needed to send the Government a clear message. Perhaps Morley Folk should send Labour a clear message and say closure of Knowle Manor is unacceptable!

Join our campaign and sign the petition or attend the rally. Together we can stop this closure programme.