Grange Moor Matters
COMMUNITY CONCERNS
In these pages we will be bringing you more detailed information about issues affecting our village
We will add further sections as more issues are brought to our attention
The local Police team looking after us in Grange Moor is now led by Sgt Grahem Slarke with PC 4110 Diane Shaw our local lead officer supported by PCSOs
If you have any questions for the team you should contact them using the following e-mail
Rural@westyorkshire.pnn.police.uk
This inbox is checked on a regular basis but should not be used for reporting a crime, suspicious incidents and anti-social behaviour.
This will need to be reported to the Team through the usual means of calling 101 / 999 or through our website:
https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/
The Community Association can be contacted with non-urgent queries which we can pass onto PC Miller direct.
It will help to monitor activity within the village if residents use the above contact details please
We are hoping that Officers from the Rural Police Team will be joining us for Coffee @ The Pavilion during 2020
======================================
LILEY LANE CHILDRENS PLAY AREA
The Council’s Play Strategy has been a topic for conversation within the village for more than a year now with the threat of moving the Liley Lane play equipment to the other play area behind Grameen Spice
The Community Association responding to concerns raised by residents has been in conversation with the Council’s Parks and Gardens Department for over year when since it became apparent that the Play Strategy did not have a Plan B
We submitted a petition on behalf of residents containing 337 to the Council Meeting in March of last year
The Play Strategy received Council Cabinet approval in August and consultations commenced with local Councillors about the implementation of the Strategy.
It appears that the feedback from the Councillors caused the Council to look again the Strategy and the Plan’s approval was reversed and the Parks and Gardens told to think again
The Play Strategy was re-written with an undertaking from Councillor Rob Walker stating in a Council Meeting “that no play areas will be withdrawn without resident consultation and agreement”
The undertaking came after pressure from our own Councillor Bill Armer in debate during the Council Meeting
The Community Association Chairman and Secretary met with Officers from Parks and Gardens in December and had the opportunity to look at both play area sites with the Officers.
The Petition to save the Liley Lane site was acknowledged at that meeting as a measure of support from residents to maintain the Liley Lane and we were assured that this will be taken into account when the Council are looking at what to do with our Play Areas
Consultations with local Councillors are now re-starting and resident consultations are planned later, probably after the May local elections
We do not expect to hear much more now for the next couple of months, but will bring further information to you when we hear more
Councillor Bill Armer who is working closely with the Community Association confirms that his position remains that he wishes to see the Liley Lane area retained and enhanced, and he will be putting this point forcefully at the meeting.
Sign up for our resident e-mails to be the first to hear when we have further news
JANUARY 2020
=====================================================
SHUTTLE EYE NUMBER 2 SHAFT
You will recall that the sadly neglected state of this memorial to the history of the village on land overlooking Grange Moor Roundabout was brought to our attention by a concerned resident
A major clear up by residents and others interested in the site was planned for Saturday 23 November following an initial site clearance by Council staff earlier in the year
Sadly the site has not been included in Council maintenance programmes and at the present time is does appear that there is indication that the Council will be including this in future maintenance plans either
This, therefore, leaves the task of clearing and maintaining the site down to residents and the reason why we had to arrange a clear up date for this to be done
The date was arranged several months in advance of the November date, so it was really disappointing when the day dawned with such appalling weather that meant the work had to be called off on the very morning of the day.
We have now arranged a further date, and hope that the weather will not prevent us again
The new date is Saturday 29 February
The following information has been provided by the Council Officer who will be with us for this clear up, please read through this so that you are clear about what we are doing
Meet on site at 10.00am. I shall bring a selection of tools for doing the clearance work (bow saws, loppers, slashers) but if residents bring along hand tools they have we should definitely have enough tools. We are not allowed to use mechanised tools with volunteers so please ask residents not bring power tools with them as they will not be able to use them.
The routine will be as before. We will cut the encroaching vegetation back and stack this to the rear of the site where it can rot down without causing a problem to others. In fact the brash pile could be the start of a mini beast habitat pile.
It is suggested that residents wear old clothes that they do not mind getting dirty or torn. Thick hide gloves would be advantageous as the majority of the plants that need cutting back are Hawthorn which are very prickly. Stout footwear is also advisable as the terrain is uneven and possibly slippery.
Regards
Andy
Andy Wickham
Parks and Green Spaces
Flint street
Fartown
Huddersfield
HD1 6LG
Thanks to all the residents who offered help with this in November, it was really pleasing to see so many residents who were prepared to give some of their time to do this work
It will be really helpful if you can let us know is you can come along and help out, all equipment will be provided which is why we need to know the numbers expected on the day
January 2020
==========================================
GRANGE MOOR PRE-SCHOOL BUILDING
The Pre-School building has been closed since Grange Moor Pre-School closed in July last year and following concerns from many sources the Community Association were in conversation with Council Officers about how the building could be brought back to life
The Chairman and Secretary of the Community Association, together with Councillor Bill Armer met with Council Officers at the end of January
We were a little concerned when we realised that 5 different Council Departments were involved with the Building which highlighted the difficulty with internal communications and getting anything agreed and action taken
We maintained regular contact with the Council and kept pressing them from a response to our concerns and a further meeting was arranged in August which at last produced the break through that we had been looing for
The Council Officers present responded to our concerns, in particular the submission that the Community Association presented setting out the concerns of the village and residents regarding the absence of pre-school facilities and the empty building and worries about its future use
As agreement was reached with the Council agreeing that the Children’s Centre (in Grange Moor) could be made available for community use
This swiftly moved to a further agreement that Lindsay Gibson would be offered the opportunity to move her existing “Linzi’s Little Gems” into the Pre-School building
Discussion between the Council and Lindsay finally resolved the terms for her to take over the building and as we move into 2020 we are looking forward to seeing Lindsay re-open the Pre-School building to provide the services that the building was designed to provide
Thanks to everyone who provided responses and comments about this issue, all of which we used in our submission to make it clear that this is a village-wide concern, and which has been a great help in reaching the positive outcome that everyone in Grange Moor was hoping for
January 2020
=======================================
PLANNING APPLICATION 2018/62/94092/E
An application was made to Kirklees Council
“For the Restoration of derelict land for agriculture, involving the importation of 90,000 tonnes of top soil and sub soil
Responding to concerns raised by residents and other village organisations the Community Association passed comments to the Council concerning the traffic issues and the number of wagons that would be using Liley Lane from the Grange Moor roundabout to reach the site.
The Application was considered at the strategic Planning Committee on 9 May
The application was refused
An appeal to the Planning Inspectorate has found in favour of the applicant and given the go ahead to the refurbishment of former mining land for agricultural purposes
The Inspector has imposed a limit on the number of wagon journeys that will be permitted each day to 10 in and 10 out, and also imposed a maximum time for the work to be completed. The work must be completed within 2 years of the starting date of the project.
January 2020
===============================================
SPEEDING IN GRANGE MOOR
The Community Association have monitoring activity on Liley Lane during 2010
Concerns over traffic speed and road safety remain, but a quieter year on the road does not appear to brought many road incidents
We have spoken with both the Council and the Police, but sadly cannot report any positive feedback from either at the present time
There is likely to be an extension of the 30 mph when the new houses on Liley Lane are completed and we are also looking at extending the 30 mph in the other direction towards Grange Moor roundabout
Timescales are difficult to assess, keep an checking this web site, our newsletters and e-mail updates for more information on this
In the meantime please continue to let us have a note of any personal experience you have of vehicles speeding on Liley Lane so that we can build up a picture of what is actually happening on this road and help us in our conversations with both the Police and Local Authority
We have reports of 6 road traffic incidents during 2019 together with numerous resident reports of speeding and other instances of poor driving along Liley Lane
We have already received reports of accidents on 24 and 26 January, and will appreciate any information from residents to help us to continue monitoring incidents on this road
You should be aware that a road traffic accident is not recorded as such unless any of the parties involved require hospital treatment
Kirklees Council are unlikely to agree to the installation of fixed speed cameras unless there have been fatalities resulting from accidents on their roads.
In addition to keeping us informed about road traffic incidents residents should also send their concerns comments and views on traffic and road conditions to
Glenn.Wakefield@kirklees.gov.uk
The more comments the Council receive about Liley Lane, they might just start listening to us about our concerns for this road.
January 2020
=======================================
KIRKLEES LOCAL PLAN
The Local Plan for housing and business development over the coming 15 years was approved at the Council Meeting on 27 February with no further amendments
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR GRANGE MOOR ?
The Local Plan for development identifies 2 accepted sites for housing and a Priority Employment Area
There is also a “Safeguarded” Land site
HOUSING SITES
Reference H128 is the site around Urban Terrace, for which 22 houses could be planned
This site is not owned by Kirklees Council. They manage the site as Corporate Trustees on behalf of the Manor of Briestwhistle Allotment Charity
It appears that this will not prevent the land from being included in a development plan, but final disposal/sale of the land would be subject to the agreement of the Charity, and there may be restrictions about how any profits should be used to benefit the Charity
We are not sure at the present time whether this may present the Council with problems that may make the sale / disposal of the land too difficult, or indeed where any proceeds may be paid to
The Community Association are keeping a close watch on this and will let you know as when they are developments with this
Reference H2576 is the site at the end of Deer Park Lane and is planned for 42 houses
This is technically in Briestfield
This site appears to be available for development without any restrictions
The Local Plan allows for development at some point in the next 15 years, and as far as we know there is no current interest in either of these sites
Priority Employment Area
This relates to Jubilee Way and the businesses based there
There appears to be no further effect on the Village with relation to this
Safeguarded Land Site (Reference SL2182) is land off Back Lane.
The Local Plan sets out “that safeguarded land will be protected from development other than that which is necessary in relation to the operation of existing uses, change of use to alternative open land uses or temporary uses. All proposals must not prejudice the possibility of long term development on safeguarded land sites. The status of safeguarded land sites will only change through a review of the local plan”
The view with this site is that it appears unlikely that this site will be considered for development before 2034
Planning activity within Kirklees and the Local Plan seems to be concentrated on the much larger sites, so we will have to wait and see what happen
We will, of course, keep you up to date with this issue as we hear more
When we look around at the developments that other Communities are facing, we may have come off fairly lightly
We will be keeping an eye on this, but if you hear something that may put a different complexion on the above, do get in touch
With grateful thanks to Councillor Bill Armer for providing the information for the above
April 2019 (no changes to January 2020)
=============================================
VILLAGE CHRISTMAS TREE 2019
There will be few if any one who did not hear about the drama around the Village Christmas Tree just before Christmas 2019
So we thought we would bring you up to date with what has happened
The Village Christmas Tree is provided by Kirkburton Parish Council
The tree is then installed by staff from Kirklees Council, two teams in fact. One to put the tree into the ground, a second to add the lights
We have learnt that following representations from the Council staff around health and safety issues the Council were obliged to carry out a formal risk assessment of the site traditionally used for the Village Christmas Tree
As a result of the risk assessment the Council found that their was not sufficient clearance for the cherry picker to place the lights on the Christmas Tree
The problem with the traditional site being the overhead power lines
The Power Company would not provide “sheathing” for the lines allowing the cherry picker to operate as the Christmas Tree was deemed a temporary structure
This was referred back to Kirkburton Parish Council who then spoke with the Church to see if the tree could be installed in their grounds. Thankfully the Church agreed, otherwise there would have been no Christmas in the Village in 2019
In the meantime Council staff who had raised the safety issues came along and installed the tree in the traditional site, only to be told that they had made a mistake and came back the following day and removed the Tree, but did not install the Tree in the Church Grounds
Concerned that there would be no Christmas Tree for “Carols at the Christmas Tree” the Community Association with the help of Councillor Bill Armer had to put pressure on the Council to install the tree in time for the event. Fortunately they did this and the tree was in place for the Event.
Community Association Chairman and Secretary have met with Council Officers responsible for the installation, reminding them of the residents wishes to have a Christmas Tree on the Green.
We have also spoken with Kirkburton Parish Council about this problem
We are currently waiting for more detailed responses to the ideas and suggestions discussed
Further information to follow when we have more positive plans to consider
January 2020
=============================================