The potential carnage of Morleys Greenfield sites.



New figures released by the Planning Department show the full extend of the potential carnage facing Morley's Greenfields if Labours Housing Targets are to be reached.

Regular readers will be aware of Labours LDF target of 7,200 new houses across the Greater Morley area. The document received shows that a miserly 18% of this target can be found on existing brownfield sites. Even with my poor "O" level in Maths I can work out that a whopping 80% plus can only be reached by ripping up Greenfield sites across Morley. I'd go further and say Developers will choose these greenfield sites before it even begins to look at the brownfield ones as there is more profit in them!

And this pretty much undermines the Labour Party's position of bleating that new development is necessary but some how can be accommodated on brownfield sites alone. This is a lie and always was but it is one that Labour believe that - if it is used often enough - people will then accept as the truth.

The headline figures show over 500 proposed for Laneside Farm in Churwell with a whopping 1000 plus for Tingley Station. Clearly schools, health centres and roads cannot cope with this level of over development but the Labour Party Supported drive from Developers speeds along.

We will off course make this a big election issue next month. Labours position on this issue is feeble and the only other political players in the area - UKIP - have failed to turn up to any of the rallies or meetings to oppose this Developer led carnage of our Greenfield sites. We are the only political group that has had the backbone to take on the Developers and will continue to do so.

We all agree that we need more affordable homes on brownfield sites but this is not what the LDF gives us. We backed affordable homes at Glen Road, Liberty View and Kirkness Court - all affordable homes - all on brownfield previously developed sites. The LDF offers urban sprawl with an overwhelming offer of Executive style homes. That won't help anyone on the present housing list in Morley.

We will continue to battle with Labour and its LDF and hope that we get full support for our campaign in the forthcoming local elections.