Meeting with Planning Minister goes well!



Meeting with Nick Boles MP

I travelled down to Stanford in Linconshire last Friday for a meeting with the Planning Minister Nick Boles to discuss concerns about Labour Leeds City Councils LDF. I went down with Members of MARC (Morley Against Reckless Development) and Conservative PPC Andrea Jenkyns who had arranged the meeting for us.

Despite a rather traumatic journey down (roads works on the A1!) which took over two hours, the meeting with the Minister was a good one with Nick Boles genuinely interested in what we had to say.

We raised our concerns about the whopping 74,000 housing target imposed by Labour Leeds and Morley's unfair burden of over 7,000 housing units. We confirmed that Morley's schools were full, our roads were congested and Health Centres could not cope with this proposed level of development.

Nick Boles is the Minister who wrote the NPPF - the Governments guidance on planning matters which councils are obliged to follow as a matter of law - and gave us a valuable insight into how we could use the NPPF to develop our campaign to get the housing figures reduced. He also agreed with us that a lack of infrastructure - such as school places - should provide enough reason to refuse larger housing applications on greenfield sites.

I was surprised at the interest Nick Boles showed as you are often concerned that their only motivation is to get you out of their office as quickly as possible. In his case he was courteous and listened - giving everyone an opportunity to raise points and answer questions.

Our battle with the LDF continues and we believe we are better geared up to fight Labour Leeds City Councils Plan following our visit to Linconshire. I also raised the thorny issue of Cottingley Springs Expansion - but that a discussion for another day!

No surrender and the battle for Morley Greenfield sites goes on!