Lewisham Park Action Day

I was involved in a a Community Clean Up day at Lewisham Park last week.

The Day was organised by Morley Housing Officers and included Housing Officers, Community Payback Team supported by the Probation Service and Cllrs Kidger, Elliott and Finnigan. The day allowed the team to tidy up the park with a litter pick across the area and also allowed the flower beds of the Memorial Gardens (one to Sarah Harper who lived near the Park) to be cleared up after they became overgrown. The delight of such an action day is that Councillors can get out of meetings and into local parks where they meet residents and hear what they have to say. It also allows us to literaly get our hands dirty and to work directly and practically on improving facilities for local residents.

One of the issues raised with us was they lack of a children’s playground at Lewisham Park. It has stuff for older children to do – such as a Multi-Use Games Area (or MUGA as they are called) but no swings or a roundabout for smaller children. We had identified some finance that might be available towards the end of this year or beginning of next which might help finance one. More news when we firm up the proposal.

New playground and outside table tennis table delivered

New Churwell Park Children's Playground

This is the new Churwell Park children’s playground which is opened to the public for the first time today. It is an excellent scheme and incorporates many of the proposals that came through the public consultation process. The park has been financed through Section 106 Developer contributions but has taken slightly longer that planned to deliver. It is an excellent new children’s play area which the community has been campaigning for many years and will accommodate the wishes of both younger and older children. We are grateful for the patience of local residents who have had to wait for a significant time for the playground to be refurbished but we are sure that when they use the playground they will accept it was well worth waiting for!

On a separate matter we have also delivered a permanent outside table tennis table for ping pong enthusiasts next to Scatcherd Park. The table is a permanent and robust one and follows a successful pilot programme last year where residents were able to play table tennis outside at nil cost. The project was jointly funded by the Town and City Councils and aims to get people – both young and old – to get more active and to play table tennis outside for free. We are encouraging everyone to bring their own bats and balls and to give the new table a good work out.

Both schemes have taken a great deal of work to deliver and I am grateful for the support of my MBI colleagues on both the Town and City Councils for putting in the effort to deliver two brilliant projects that initially stemmed from the local community. We are community politicians and we listen to the communities we represent. Perhaps other political party’s – especially those involve in the EU referendum - could learn from this approach!

Laneside Farm Public Meeting Tuesday 7th June at 7pm at Morley Town Hall

Proposal for 550 homes on Laneside Farm Greenfield site

Dear Resident,
A Planning Application for 550 houses for a Greenfield Site at Laneside Farm in Churwell has been lodged by Persimmons Homes.
Morley Borough Independent Town and City Councillors are opposing this application for 5 separate reasons. The first is the levels of highway congestion on Churwell Hill and the associated increase levels of pollution. This proposal will make things worse. Secondly local primary and secondary schools are already full and cannot accommodate the additional 137 primary school children and 55 secondary school children this site would generate. There are presently less than a dozen spare places in primary schools across the Morley wide area. Our third reason for objection is that the local health centre cannot cope with the additional 2000 + patients this site will generate putting more strain on an already busy local health service. The fourth is that this is a valuable Greenfield site which offers a positive “greenbelt” barrier between Churwell and Morley. The fifth reason for objections is the site is also allocated as a Phase 2 site in Leeds City Councils local plan and releasing it for development is premature and unnecessary.

The Development is likely to be modelled on Persimmons Daisy Hill site with the majority being 4 bedroomed executive style housing with little affordable housing. This will still leave over 2,000 people on the Morley housing waiting list without offering any real hope for residents needing a home at an affordable rent.

You can raise your concerns about this application by attending a Public Meeting at Morley Town Hall on Tuesday 7th June at 7pm.

You can also lodge a formal objection by completing the attached objection letter and returning it to the address on the letter or leaving it at the Town Council Offices in Morley Town Hall.

We hope we can count on your continuing support to keep Laneside Farm a Greenfield site. We believe in putting people first - not Developers profits. We recently defeated Persimmons application for housing on a Greenfield site at Churwell New Village and defeated McDonalds at Tingley to prevent a fast food takeaway next to Woodkirk High School. Together we can win this campaign.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. If you require any further information please ring the Independent Helpline on 0781 3322737.

Yours truly

Morley Borough Independent Town and City Councillors

Leave Campaign in Morley for EU Referendum

Leave Campaign Bus in Morley

I was involved with the Leave referendum campaign last week when the Leave bus brought campaigners to Morley to listen to what Morley Folk has to say.

Although the rain poured down there was a very positive reaction towards the Leave Campaign with many Morley Folk confirming their intention to support Brexit.

The Leave Campaign has broad support across the political spectrum with Labour big hitters such as Kate Hoey, Frank Field, Austin Mitchell and Gisela Stuart joining with Boris Johnson and Michael Gove from the Tories and Nigel Farage from UKIP. Leave also has the support of some Trade Unionists who see the EU as an undemocratic and unaccountable organisation as does the Communist Party of Great Britain!

On the In side you have the bankers – Goldman Sachs and the others along with Tony Blair, David Cameron and George Osborne, the bosses union the CBI, the International Monetary Fund and others who have benefited and got rich because of their association with the European Union.

It’s clear Brexiteers are in favour of Europe but not the European Union – an organisation that hasn’t had it accounts audited for many years. The EU is unaccountable and undemocratic foisting on voters much of what they don’t want or need. Our destiny is better in our own hands rather than in the hands of self-seeking bureaucrats.

I’ve campaigned for years for decision making to be brought back down to a local level with decisions taken as close to the communities that are impacted upon by those decisions. A vote to Leave is the only consistent position I can take as I genuinely believe in bringing power back to the people – a concept entirely alien to the army of faceless bureaucrats that run the EU.

Keep Laneside Farm a Greenfield Site campaign

Persimmons proposal for 550 homes on Laneside Farm Greenfield site

A Planning Application for 550 houses for a Greenfield Site at Laneside Farm in Churwell has been lodged by Persimmons Homes.

Morley Borough Independent Town and City Councillors are opposing this application for 4 separate reasons. The first is the levels of highway congestion on Churwell Hill and the associated increase levels of pollution. Our second reason for opposition is that local primary and secondary schools are already full and cannot accommodate the additional 137 primary school children and 55 secondary school children this site would generate. There are presently less than a dozen spare places in primary schools across the Morley wide area. Our third reason is that the local health centre cannot cope with the additional 2000 + patients this site will generate putting more strain on an already busy local health service. The fourth is that this is a valuable Greenfield site which offers a positive “greenbelt” barrier between Churwell and Morley.

The Development is likely to be modelled on Persimmons Daisy Hill site with the majority of homes likely to be 4 bedroomed executive style housing with as little affordable housing for local people that the Developer can get away with. This will still leave over 2,000 on the Morley housing waiting list without offering any real hope for residents needing a home at an affordable rent.

You can help to oppose this application by attending a Public Meeting at Morley Town Hall on Tuesday 7th June at 7pm to discuss residents’ concerns.

We hope we can count on your continuing support to keep Laneside Farm a Greenfield site. We believe in putting people first - not Developers profits. We recently defeated Persimmons with an application they lodged for housing on a Greenfield site at Churwell New Village and beat McDonalds at Tingley to prevent a fast food takeaway next to Woodkirk High School. Together we can win this campaign!

Outdoor Table Tennis on its way!

A project to deliver an outside table tennis table outside Morley Sports Centre has commenced with the initial construction work being undertaken last week. The proposal, a joint project between Morley Town Council and Leeds City Council, will provide a robust table, bats and balls for table tennis to be played outdoors.

Cllr Judith Elliott says “We have previously supported a temporary outside table last year which was very popular amongst young and not so young residents who enjoyed playing table tennis out of doors. We decided to look for a partnership deal with Leeds City Council to deliver a permanent provision.”

The outside tennis table will be similar to ones provided by the National Trust and other organisations which allow people to play table tennis at any time without a cost. Morley Town Council are jointly financing the £2000 cost with Leeds City Council

Cllr Judith Elliott added “We are always looking at new ways to encourage all residents, young and old, to become more active and to keep fit. This proposal will mean the sport become more accessible for everyone as residents will be able to play for free.”

McDonalds Public Inquiry

I sat at the Public Inquiry dealing with the McDonalds take away planning application at Tingley for 4 days last week. We represented local residents as a Rule 6 Party which gives us the right to ask awkward questions of McDonald’s experts on Planning/Highways/Noise Nuisance and Public Health.

McDonalds were represented by a Barrister who presented their case with reports from his experts who all confirmed that there was not a problem with placing a McDonald’s Drive-through Take-away at this residential location. It is clear to me that some of the reports from McDonald’s experts were questionable but – as they have deep pockets – they can make sure any reports they have fully support their scheme.

To give credit the Leeds City Council, they also had a barrister putting their reasons for refusal who did an excellent job and used different independent reports to show that McDonald’s case was flawed.

What struck me – as I tried to do my best Perry Mason impression – was the patience of local residents who turned up day after day to listen to some fairly dry and involved evidence – and just how difficult it is with some Developers for them to appreciate the impact their Development has on local communities.

We put the case about the negative impact on Public Health having a burger bar next to a high school along with Highways concerns and the impact on the quality of life of local residents. All was carefully recorded by the Planning Inspector who will make a decision on the application later in the year.

I hope with all the efforts put in by campaigners, the community and local councillors that the decision to refuse the Planning Application is upheld.