Glen Road parking improvement plan

Proposals to improve the parking problems on the Glen Estate in Morley have been welcomed by Cllr Judith Elliott. The plan – which will bring additional parking bays on Glen Road – follows concerns raised by councillors and residents.

Cllr Judith Elliott said “Parking has been a problem on Glen Road for many years and means people have often parked on the verges which makes them unsightly. This proposal is very welcome and will improve the parking for residents and reduce the damage of green verges on the Glen Estate.”

Leeds City Council leader visits Morley

The Leader of Leeds City Council Cllr Judith Blake and Leeds City Councils Chief Executive Tom Riordan visited Morley on a fact finding trip last Wednesday. 

They visited different areas within both Morley Wards including Drighlington, Gildersome, Morley Town Centre and Lewisham Park.

We took the opportunity to lobby for the changes we believe Morley needs. This included getting a better deal for Traders in Morley Town Centre with their business rates; help to get the Pavilion redeveloped and increased support for Morley Neighbourhood Policing Team.

The visitors also looked at several Greenfield sites in Drighlington and Gildersome and we raised our concerns about the impact of development on local roads, schools and health centres.

We lobbied for more support to redevelop and improve Morley Bottoms – especially Brunswick Street – and we were told that this would be explored to see what additional help can be provided.

The visit concluded with a meeting between Councillors, the Police, Chamber of Trade representatives and Leeds Youth Service to discuss future partnerships.

Labour waves White Flag at Developers

Housing Developers are lodging numerous speculative planning applications on Greenfield sites around Morley following confirmation from a recent Court Case that Leeds City Council did not hold a 5 year development land supply for new homes.

Applications have been lodged for over 750 new homes at Dunningley in Tingley with a further 550 proposed on Laneside Farm in Churwell by Persimmon Homes. Barratt’s have submitted a planning application for a further 200 homes on Scott Lane off Bruntcliffe Road and Miller Homes have announced a further 200 homes proposed at a site off King Street in Drighlington.

The failure of Labour controlled Leeds City Council to agree a lower achievable and sustainable housing target has led to this rampage by Developers who aim to concrete over Morley’s Greenfield sites. Leeds City Councils target of 74,000 new homes by 2028 was always unrealistic and allows Developers to cherry pick Greenfield sites while ignoring previously developed brownfield sites that need regenerating.

Leeds City Council has also announced that Developers already hold planning permission for over 18,000 new homes, mainly on brownfield sites, which they have not yet built.

There is the new speculative proposal from Miller Homes in Drighlington and we know Developers are hovering over a Greenfield site to the rear of Street Lane in Gildersome. It is clear local primary schools are already full, local roads heavily congested and local health centres struggling to cope with demands from patients already living in the area. There are no coherent plans to deal with the overwhelming demand these new homes will bring and we will therefore be opposing each and every one.

Morley Borough Independent Councillors recently met with MP Andrea Jenkyns who shares their concerns about the over development of Morley Greenfield sites. She has agreed to request a Planning Minister visits the constituency to discuss local concerns.

Labour votes to close Siegen

Morley Borough Independent Councillors made a final bid to prevent the closure of Siegen Manor at a Leeds City Council meeting last Wednesday. The proposal, contained within a white paper resolution, pledged the Council to postpone closure for a further 2 years.

This final option to prevent the closure of Siegen Manor failed. We called on the Council to suspend the closure of all three homes on the closure list until there are guarantees of suitable accommodation of a better quality within the local area and despite the support of Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green Party Councillors the ruling Labour Administration rejected our call.

Leeds City Councils Executive Board voted to close Siegen Manor at its September meeting. The decision was referred back for further consideration following a Scrutiny Board Inquiry but the Executive Board reconfirmed the closure decision at its October Meeting.

We think closure is the wrong decision. Leeds City Council is gaining an additional £5 million a year – every year – via the Social Care Levy on Council Tax bills. It also agreed a £4million grant to Yorkshire Cricket Club towards guaranteeing test cricket in Leeds. This money should be used to postpone any final closure decision while better options are examined. The residents in Siegen Manor are some of the most vulnerable in our community and they deserve high quality care and accommodation. There is no guarantee this is what they will get if - as proposed - they are moved into the private sector.

Siegen Manor Call in Meeting

A special Call in Meeting to discuss the closure of Siegen Manor will be held on Tuesday 11th October at 10am at Leeds Civic Hall. The Scrutiny Board Meeting will look again at the decision made by Leeds City Councils Executive Board to confirm the closure of three care homes including Siegen Manor in Morley as well as homes in Armley and Seacroft.

Cllr The residents of Siegen Manor are some of the most vulnerable in our community. Several are in their 90s with one resident over 100 years old. All have dementia and closure is likely to have a negative impact on their health.

The Scrutiny Board has the power to return the closure decision back to Executive Board for reconsideration.

Cllr Judith Elliott who also co-signed the Call in Request said “We do not believe the economic case for closure has been made. Adult Care Services received an additional £5 million from the Social Care Levy on council tax bills this year and that will increase to £10 million next year. Closure means residents will be dispersed to other homes across the Leeds City Council area. We think this is wrong and residents should only move when they can all move together to brand new extra care accommodation in the Morley area. This is what relatives want and this is what we will continue to campaign for.”

Councillors praise Police Action on Travellers

We have praised Police action following the eviction of Travellers from Morley Sports Centre last week. Police exercised their powers to require the immediate removal of the Travellers and their caravans who left the site early on Wednesday evening.

The Police deserve our praise for taking action as quickly as they could and issued a Section 61 notice to require the Travellers to leave. If they had not exercised their powers then an eviction Court Order would have to be acquired which could have taken over a week to obtain.

The Travellers occupied disabled parking spots outside Morley Sports Centre early on Tuesday morning with the unauthorised encampment also occupying greenspace adjacent to the skate park. Leeds City Council made a none toleration decision on the Tuesday and MBI councillors made a formal request for the Police to use their powers to evict after Council Officers undertook the welfare visit they are legally obliged to undertake.

The Police have powers under Section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 which requires Travellers to move immediately should a Police Officer issue such a direction. The Police only use these powers selectively and I am pleased they chose to use a Section 61 direction to clear the unauthorised encampment as quickly as possible.

The section 61 notice also bans the travellers from returning to the site within a 3 month period or face court action.

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Churwell Park

The Mayor of Morley formally opened the new children’s playground in Churwell Park by cutting a ribbon at a short ceremony this Sunday.

The new playground, which cost over £100,000, was built by Parks and Countryside Staff at Leeds City Council with money generated from a Developers greenspace contribution from a new housing development at Daisy Hill in Morley.

We are delighted with this new children’s play area and it has been welcomed by the local community. The playground was built following a large-scale consultation with local residents, Churwell children and Churwell based groups who decided the final design. It is a brilliant playground but we intend to look at improving it further perhaps with a smaller slide for toddlers as well as other play equipment.

The ceremony was attended by Churwell City and Town Councillors and was also supported by Churwell Environmental Volunteers, Churwell Bowling Club and Churwell Action Group who put on stalls and community games for residents and children to play.

We have worked closely with our Churwell Town Council colleagues to find the finance for this project. This is an excellent new children’s playground and we are already looking for additional finance to improve Churwell Park further.