Cllr Bernard McGuin & Robert McGuin - Lepton & Fenay Bridge Update

Cllr Bernard McGuin & Robert McGuin say "Thank You" to all 1,110 Local Residents who have signed this petition against 600 Houses being built in Lepton & Fenay Bridge. Please sign & share, if you already haven't change.org/p/save-lepton-fenay-bridge-from-development 

Thanks to your help, this petition reached the Huddersfield Examiner.  examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/1000-huddersfield-residents-unite-block-25254686

Robert McGuin said "Clearly there are many more than the 1,110 residents living in Lepton, Fenay Bridge, Lascelles Hall and Almondbury who are against 600 houses being developed on local greenspaces near an accident hotspot of Penistone Road, and junctions of Station Road/Fenay Lane/ Rolwey Lane. The Council seem to be yet again ignoring local residents on this and the wishes of lowering the speed limits and/or traffic lights, so afraid it seems more accidents may happen in future. There will also be an impact on local schools. Almondbury Community School closed down against local Parents, children and local residents wishes and there's no way Almondbury King James's School can expand any more. It has reached its maximum. Yet there will be more kids with hundreds of houses built. Where will they go?.” 

Robert says “This housing proposal does not protect or enhance the setting of Woodsome Hall which is a Grade I listed building which is part of local residents heritage. Robert thanked local groups Lepton Vision & Green Alert (Gail) for campaigning against development and signing and thanks all local residents who signed the petition.”

Robert said "I know Kirklees Conservatives asked a while back for an urgent review of Kirklees Labour Council local plan of 30,000 new houses in hundreds of acres of green belt, given the 2021 census showed Kirklees will have 16,000 fewer residents than expected when their plan was created in 2019. Why have the Kirklees Labour Council still not reviewed their plan, if their own data is clearly flawed? Why are many Brownfield sites not given a main priority where there be clearly far less local residents uproar instead these Brownfield sites have become an eyesore, been left to neglect for years and will continue to do so." 

Cllr Bernard says “We still wait for decisions on the current planning applications. This petition was set up to show opposition to hundreds of proposed houses in former green belt areas. Even if the applications were approved, significant money would have been put into the Lepton & Fenay Bridge area... Or so we thought. I wanted to give an update on the first application that was passed just off Penistone Road, the original developers have passed this onto a different developer and met some local residents of Whitegate Grove. Basically every large scale development needs 20% to be affordable housing yet they have turned around and said they don’t want any. They want to reverse the 106 section scheme that protects green spaces, puts money into our sewage/drainage networks, our highways and local schools. Basically what we knew all along is the developers seem to want to make as much money as possible and give the impression they don't care about the effect of building hundreds of houses in Lepton & Fenay Bridge." 

“The facts are there are different developers for each proposed site in Lepton & Fenay Bridge. Until they agree to 20% social housing and stump up the cash for section 106, it is very likely no development will take place on housing as Kirklees Council planners if they followed the law should not pass these current plans."

P.S For more information please visit www.leptonvision.com  

Thanks 

Cllr Bernard McGuin - Almondbury Ward Councillor Facebook: facebook.com/bernard.mcguin
Website: bernardmcguin.wordpress.com Mobile:07929908238         Twitter: twitter.com/terrierfree  Email: b.mcguin@ntlworld.com