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!