Andrea has joined the Morley Borough Independent councillors to oppose plans for more than 7,000 new homes in the Morley area.
Leeds City Council’s draft ‘Site Allocations Plan’ calls for the construction 74,000 houses across Leeds by 2028. However, Andrea and local MBI councillors agree that this target is too high and that it would mean the unnecessary loss of large swathes of Green Belt land.
The Green Belt is intended to provide a buffer between settlements and to protect the identities of these towns and villages. The Government’s National Planning Policy Framework states that Green Belt boundaries should only be altered in exceptional circumstances.
Commenting on the plans, Andrea said,
“My position on development in my constituency has been consistent since before I was elected to Parliament. Morley cannot be immune from the need for more housing, but neither should my constituency be asked to build more than its fair share of new homes.
It is also vital that infrastructure is put in place to deal with increased demand, that houses are of the right type and in the right location, and that the Green Belt is preserved for future generations.”
Leader of the Morley Borough Independent Group, and Morley North councillor, Robert Finnigan, welcomed Andrea’s comments and said,
“I am pleased that Morley Borough Independents and our local MP are united in making sure we defend our green-field sites. It is incredibly important that all local people work together so that we can preserve as many of these sites as possible.”
The council’s Site Allocations document, along with comments from local residents, will now be submitted to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. The plans will then be examined in public by a Planning Inspector.