Focus stories: cleaning up our area

Local Liberal Democrat campaigner, Penny Goodman, is taking action to clean up our area!

Penny has successfully got graffiti cleared up in a number of streets, including Bennett Road and Alma Road. And thanks to her quick action, Penny has secured a new litter bin at the entrance to the Lupton Residences.

The local Liberal Democrat team also took action to get the rubbish cleared up from around the recycling bins at the Headingley Taps.

Why aren’t Headingley’s Labour Councillors tacking these issues?

Local residents know that Penny and the Lib Dems get things done in our area. If you spot any issues, please contact us.

Focus stories: Labour’s housing targets are flawed

Headingley Liberal Democrat campaigner, Penny Goodman, and local MP, Greg Mulholland, are calling on the Labour-run Leeds City Council to review its housing targets after admitting they are inaccurate and too high.

Labour’s housing targets are too high, putting precious green space across Leeds under threat from development and will put strain on Headingley’s infrastructure.

Local MP, Greg Mulholland, has slammed the Labour-run Leeds City Council who closed the Royal Park School and are now seeing a crisis over school places in the area. Now Labour wants to build more homes in Headingley, but where will these families send their children to school?

Greg Mulholland MP said:

The housing allocations are based on what are now recognised to be flawed figures meaning more sites are identified for development than are required. I have called for affordable housing on brownfield sites to be prioritised and also campaigned in Parliament to give local people more say on planning issues by introducing a Bill in Parliament to balance the rights of developers and local communities.

The Liberal Democrats voted against the Core Strategy which set the housing target on Leeds City Council because it was inaccurate. Labour and the Conservatives voted for it.

Earlier this year Labour Councillors shocked local residents by voting in favour of allowing developers to build houses and a supermarket on the green playing fields off Victoria Road. The Liberal Democrat Councillor on the Plans Panel voted against following the community campaign with Penny and Greg.

The Council is currently carrying out a consultation with residents to hear their views on the proposed housing sites.

Penny Goodman said:

We understand the need for more affordable homes, but believe they should be on redundant brownfield sites and support the community. Labour needs to listen to the concerns of local residents, so we urge local people to take part in the consultation and have their say.

How you can have your say on the plans:

The Leeds City Council Site Allocations Plans public consultation runs for 8 weeks from 22 September until 5pm 16 November 2015.

You can comment on the plans online here.

Alternatively you can send written comments to: Planning Services, Leonardo Building, 2 Rossington Street, Leeds, LS2 8HD

When sending in written comments, please make sure your letter clearly states which sites you are writing about, preferably by quoting the plan reference number.

You can also sign Greg Mulholland’s petition calling on Leeds City Council to revise their housing targets and prioritise brown field land for the housing our community actually needs here.

October Focus

We’re starting to deliver our October Focus leaflet today. Watch out for yours!

October Focus

Note: we aim to deliver a leaflet to every household in Headingley, but of course some addresses are inaccessible (e.g. flats with entry codes), and sometimes we just run out! That’s why we put our stories online as well. You can browse through them by following our ‘focus stories’ category.

Focus story: Conservatives to scrap Human Rights Act and introduce ‘snooper’s charter’

The Conservatives have pledged to push ahead with their plans to scrap the Human Rights Act and allow the government to snoop on your emails and web access.

Greg Mulholland MP said:

Governing with the Conservatives was difficult at times, and it was a constant fight to stop their worst excesses.

Now that they are governing alone, they are making no secret of their desire to implement the damaging and illiberal plans that we have been blocking for the last five years.

The Liberal Democrats will always fight these proposals and fight to protect the freedoms of individuals.

Focus story: Liberal Democrat membership surge

The Liberal Democrat fightback is well underway, with new figures revealing that over 14,000 people have signed up to join the party since polling day.

Penny Goodman said:

We’re fighting back and recruiting people who have never joined a political party before, but want to stand together against the things this Conservative Government is already planning to do – like introducing a ‘snoopers charter’ and scrapping the Human Rights act.

Our country needs strong liberal voices to counter attempts to pull us to extremes. I hope that more and more local people will join our party to help the fightback!

If you believe in personal freedom, value every individual and want to unlock the wasted potential of the disadvantaged, you can join us too.

Focus story: Greg calls meeting over incident concerns

Local MP, Greg Mulholland, called for a meeting with West Yorkshire Police, local councillors and representatives of universities and student unions, to discuss local concerns following reports of a sexual assault in Headingley on 9 May and to reassure residents in the area. The Police explained that they are investigating this assault but that they believe it to be an isolated incident.

Greg Mulholland said:

I was very concerned to hear about this crime, which has understandably caused upset and worry for people in the area.” “I approached West Yorkshire Police, and I am pleased that we have had this meeting. It was a productive and useful discussion and I am confident that the police are taking necessary measures to deal with this incident and, working with others, to also reassure people in the area.

Focus story: Greg Mulholland MP, Penny Goodman and the Headingley Liberal Democrat team say Thank You!

Local MP, Greg Mulholland, and Penny Goodman would like to say a big thank you to local people for their support at this year’s General and Local Elections.

Greg Mulholland said:

Thank you to local people for putting their trust in me to keep delivering for our area. We have fought hard for our communities over the last ten years, but there is still much more to be done including pushing for integrated public transport and protecting our precious green space.

Penny Goodman said:

A big thank you to local residents for supporting Greg and me this year. The recent elections may have been difficult for the Liberal Democrats nationally, but here in Leeds we continue to hold the Labour-run Leeds City Council to account and work hard for local residents to ensure Headingley and Hyde Park are areas we are proud to live and work in.

Thank You Focus

We’re getting started on delivering our Thank You Focus leaflets today! Keep an eye out for yours.

Thank You Focus

Note: we aim to deliver a leaflet to every household in Headingley, but of course some addresses are inaccessible (e.g. flats with entry codes), and sometimes we just run out! That’s why we put our stories online as well. You can browse through them by following our ‘focus stories’ category.