Labour betrayal in Morley

Despite promises made in several local and national elections the Labour Party in Morley has reverted back to type and agreed 300 housing units on Morley greenfield sites at Daisy Hill and Bruntcliffe Road. The Labour dominated Plans Panel agreed both applications - despite strong representations from campaigning local residents - with Labour using its majority to ram through the proposals which have no local support.

But perhaps we should not be too surprised at Labours duplicity. It smacks of their approach to Morley when they were last in power at Leeds City Council with 1000s of houses dumped onto Morley's infrastructure which could barely cope. Now they are back to inflict more pain and this time have the support of Labour MP Ed Balls who backs house building at this level. Indeed Mr Balls failed to lodge an objection to either of these housing applications preferring to stay quiet about housing figures he agreed in the last Labour Government in the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) which dictated wholly unrealistic and unachievable housing figures across Leeds of over 3200 houses each year for the next 15 years! Unsurprisingly these are very similar figures to those contained in Labours LDF proposals presently doing the rounds at Leeds City Council.

The agreement of 300 additional houses brings at least an additional 600 vehicles onto Morley's already busy roads. Children's Services confirmed that Morley Schools were already full but this was ignored by the Labourites who have added an additional 60 primary school children to Morley's schools waiting list with nowhere to put them. If we add in over 22,000 planning permisions - most on brownfield sites already agreed across Leeds by Leeds City Council its clear that no Morley greenfield needs to be developed - at the present rate of new build - for over decade.

What do we make of this further Labour betrayal of Morley. It is clear that the Labour Group are happy to sacrifice Morley's solitary Labour Councillor Neil Dawson over this greenfield assault. Labours vote this year went backwards and his fragile majority has been overturned. Its also safe to assume that they believe Ed Balls is Teflon coated and this "Friend of the Developer" tag Labour now has will not stick to him. I think that's unrealistic. Labour at both national and local levels are prepared to sell Morley's greenfield and greenbelt sites out to Developers as the money associated with such Development can be re-cycled to Labour areas miles away from such overwhelming housing development in Morley.

I pay tribute to the campaigners such as Morley Against Reckless Construction (MARC) especially Dave Paul and Brian and Christine Guy who have run brilliant campaigns against the Daisy Hill and Bruntcliffe Road Developments. They will feel disillusioned and devastated that the views of local people have been entirely ignored by Labour Councillors who find such views irrelevant and are prepared to rip up any greenfield sites as long as they are not in areas they represent. But campaigners should not be downbeat. We have lost the opening skirmish but not the Morley Greenfield War. We must continue to oppose Labours crazy LDF policy which will bring over 8000 housing units to Morley's greenfield sites if agreed. We will explore the options to refer both applications to the Secretary of State and ask him to call them in as neither application supports sustainable development - the bedrock of the Governments flagship National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

Labours LDF goes to public examination next years. Its our job to get it dumped and to continue with our campaign to protect other Morley greenfield sites on Labours Development hit list!

Morley Fire Station - Public Meeting

A public meeting has been called by the Morley Borough Independents to discuss the proposals for the closure of Morley Fire Station and its merger with Hunslet Fire Station at an undisclosed location on Dewsbury Road.

The Meeting will be held in the Council Chamber in Morley Town Hall on Monday 8th October at 7pm.

Our opposition to the closure is well recorded as we have significant concerns about the fire safety of residents in outer communities - especially in East Ardsley, Drighlington and Gildersome - who may be put at risk if it takes longer for a fire engine to attend. We all know about the problems with Dewsbury Road and the difficulties that can face vehicles - especially when the M62 is clogged up as often as it is. If we add into this challenging scenario additional housing proposed for the Dewsbury Road corridor then communities may be being put at risk. 

Morley Fire Station does an brilliant job in dealing with road traffic incidents on the M62 and is often called for assistance along the stretch of motorway that runs along the length of Morley. The local firefighters also do an excellent job is reducing the risk of fires breaking out by visiting vulnerable groups - such as pensioners and the disabled - to offer help and advice to support a reduction in the potential for a fire. This successful approach has seen the number of deaths from house fires drop dramatically over the last few years and prevention is always better than the cure.

 The Fire Brigades Union has been invited to attend and we are hoping as many resident as possible will also attend to make their views clear. This will form the basis for our representation during this public consultation stage.

 A final decision is to be taken in December. It si vital that that decision takes into account local views and does not reduce the safety of local communities.

Daisy Hill victory

Many readers will have watched with interest a number of Developers circling several Morley Greenfield sites like vultures waiting to pounce. Daisy Hill is one of those locations which was lined up for almost hundred houses on this pleasant greenfield site.

The area is well known for flooding and Highways problems - especially on New Bank Street and King George Avenue - are well known. Added into this is the lack of places at local primary schools and the poor bus service within the area then it is difficult to see why Leeds City Council would approve planning permission for the site.

Local residents campaigned - along with MBI councillors - to oppose this proposal. No such opposition was found within Morley Labour Party with neither the local MP Ed Balls or his Morley Mate Neil Dawson offering any objections.

I attended the Plans Panel meeting and was delighted to hear representations from Dave Paul - Chairman of Morley Against Reckless Construction - who spoke passionately against the application. I offered my views about the lack of sustainability at this location and how it breached new Government Planning rules. The Panel agreed with us and turned over a recommendation of granting planning permission to a refusal.

There is little doubt the Developer will appeal as they are desperate to shovel their developments on to greenfield sites across Morley. We must continue to resist with the same commitment.

The battle for Morley Greenfield sites has just begun but I am delighted we won the first skirmish!

McDonalds Saturday store

We had a very positive response from residents last Saturday when we joined with Tingley Campaigners to collect objection letters to the Planning Proposal from McDonald's for a fast food takeaway on the site of the White Bear Inn at Tingley.

The vast majority of shoppers supported the campaign with over 300 objection letters completed. This puts the total number of objections to over 1200 which is a commendable achievement by the Tingley Campaigners during this holiday time.

I believe that this third time application from McDonald's is likely to be refused again as it is in the wrong location for a fast food take-away. This application would have a significant impact on the local community including traffic, highways safety, noise, litter and the potential for anti-social behaviour. If we factor in the non compliance with national planning policy (McDonald's are suppose to be in Town Centres) and the problems with significant traffic on Tingley roundabout then it is impossible to see how this application can ever be sustainable.

The better news is that a refusal this time would give residents a break in their David v Goliath battle with one of the worlds largest multi-nationals as any further applications - without significant changes - would lead to non determination. This would give this hard pressed community a break if Ronald is given his marching orders - a break they richly deserve!

More news on this issue is likely to be released shortly with a final decision expected in September.

If this is a further refusal then the Tingley Campaign Team deserve all credit for sustaining this campaign. We can all admire and learn from their "No surrender" approach!

Morley Police Station - Saturday Opening delivered!

Regular readers of this blog may remember the issues raised about Morley Police Station. Due to the Police Cuts programme Morley Police Station was likely to have to close over the weekends to make the appropriate savings and prevent cuts to front line policing in the area. Although closure over the weekend was a blow it is clearly important to retain the number of officers on Morley streets to continue the excellent job they do in reducing crime levels.

Many moaned about the closure and our beloved MP Ed Balls sent out another bogus "survey" and held another coffee morning. Indeed when ever Morley faces a challenge - whether its youth unemployment or the weekend closure of Morley Police Station Labour always holds a coffee morning to discuss the matter and then sends out a press release and a photo to show how "concerned" they are. Its a pity they never seem to take action to resolve the issue!

The MBI approach is to attempt to solve the problem. We met with senior police officers and asked them to cost up the option of opening on a Saturday on the basis that - if affordable - we would find the finance for it. The deal that came back would mean Area Committee paying half (not the Town Council as claimed by the YEP!) and the Police covering the other half. This was a good partnership approach and a great deal for local residents. The finance will be agreed at Septembers Area Committee meeting.

The frustration surrounds the Labour Party's claim towards resolving this problem. Other than Cllr Neil Dawson bleating about Police Cuts at a Town Council meeting - no action was taken by the Comrades at all other than the usual press releases, coffee mornings and pictures. Regrettably the Comrades were copied into an e mail about the matter following the meeting and figured out something was about to be announced and launched their own version of events. As ever they attempted to claim credit for other peoples work - not that that is anything new!

Outside this Political Posturing this is still good news for local residents. The Police are to be commended for taking a positive approach to working in partnership with local councillors and this decision will support the great work they do around the area. Confidence Levels in Morley Neighbourhood Policing Team are already some of the highest in the Division. This agreement - along with their continuing excellent work - will increase confidence levels higher.

Gildersome Industrial Estate Campaign and the formation of MARC

I was at a meeting at Gildersome Meeting Hall last night to discuss proposls for a large scale industrial estate on greenland adjacent to Asquith Avenue and Gelderd Road. This green space, which presently operates as a green corridor between Gildersome Village and Morley, is under threat of widescale industrial development.

Over 100 resdeints attended to raise their concerns at the meeting chaired well by my collegue Cllr Tom Leadley. Officers from the Council also attended to answer question on Planning, Highways and Drainage issues.

Gildersome residents clearly oppose this development and raised legitimate concerns about drainage, highways impact at already congested roads around the site and its impact on local residents who live adjacent to the site.

It is clear that residents concerns are genuine and that the debate about the sustainability of this site is an important one being held. At the point where many local industrial estates, such as Treefields at Gildersome and Howley Park in Morley, are not full is there demonstrable need for additional industrial development?

The Highways Agency has presently a holding objection to the application as it wants assurances that the impact of this proposal added to proposals for a hotel at Gildersome Roundabout on the Rowntree site as well as Barratts proposals for 200 homes on Bruntcliffe Road wont overwhelm the local road network. Many residents believe that the impact of all three proposals make the site unsustainable and congestion and pollution levels will rise. I expect to see several hundred objections to this planning application.

Which brings me nicely to the formation last week of the new campaign group MARC - Morley Against Reckless Construction. This group has been formed as an umbrella organisation to bring together groups such as the Stop McDonald's at Tingley along with campaigners against housing proposals at Daisy Hill and Bruntcliffe Road. The aim is to bring all such groups together to support each other campaigns and to speak as a unified voice on matters such as the LDF presently doing the rounds. The new chairman Dave Paul attended last nights meeting to pledge the groups support.

Its clear that the campaign against Inappropriate Development across Morley keeps building momentum!

Metro Meeting

Many readers may have seen the long campaign by residents on Bruntcliffe Road to improve the bus services along the A650 and along Fountain Street. The campaign has taken many years and has been the subject of several public meetings and meetings with the local MP without making much progress.

Bus deregulation in the 1980s has allowed bus companies to exploit passengers and deliver the bus services that make them the most profit. There has been little attention paid to the social needs of local residents and profits have been put before people as the bus companies have thrived and become cash rich. Successive Governments have failed to regulate the buses and the Bus Companies have had a field day!

Many of us have called for the re-regulation of the bus companies for many years. This is secretly supported by many councillors of all political persuasions many of whom disagree with the position of their National Parties on the matter.

Last week Metro voted to introduce Quality Bus Contracts. This is a form of re-regulation which will give Metro the power to compel bus companies to deliver services for the public good. This can only be a good thing and was at the back of our minds when we me with Metro Chairman Cllr James Lewis earlier today. Cllr Lewis was sympathetic to our case and will use Metros increased influence to try and solve this long term problem and return the much needed bus services serving Bruntcliffe Road and Fountain Street.

The bus companies receive public subsidy of around £70 million. Its about time we had some say on the services they deliver. Lets hope this new regime delivers for local bus users.