Cllr Cahal Burke working with residents and empty homes
team to bring long term empty properties back in to use

Local residents whose street is being blighted by an “eyesore” empty home have told their local councillor they want the Council to be doing more to get this sort of property tidied up and back in use.

Lib Dem (pictured) has been working on behalf of the residents to get the owner to tidy the front garden and drive which is wildly overgrown and affecting neighbouring house prices.

Cllr Burke has been told that the Council has written to the owner to inform them of the complaints and to explain what help is on offer to get the property back on the market. But based on his experience of when this has happened in relation to other private properties in his ward, Cllr Burke is not expecting a quick turn around.

Cllr Burke said:

“I entirely agree with the local residents when they say that the Council should do more to get properties like this, which have stood empty for an age and are running wild, tidied up and back on the market.

“At present the Council’s approach is to send the owner a letter and to be honest when residents say to me that it won’t work and it’s not good enough they’re right. Some home owners will react and take up the offer of help but for real problem properties it is not enough. The letters go ignored and nothing else happens. And the Council can’t march on to the land and cut it back as there is no “risk” to people’s safety. There are other powers which some of our neighbouring councils use but Kirklees doesn’t. Kirklees Cabinet’s would rather leave residents and council services fighting a futile battle. People are rightly asking why we’re such a soft touch.”

Clr Cahal Burke improving paths in our area.

Work has been undertaken to repair and improve a footpath linking Longwood to Salendine Nook after residents told their local councillor it needed attention

The footpath in question runs between Salendine Nook High School and Longwood Edge Road/Haugh’s Lane and is used frequently by high school and college students as well as local residents and dog walkers.

The work on the footpath came about after Cllr Burke (Lib Dem) undertook a survey of local people earlier in the year. The condition of the footpath was one of the chief complaints. The survey results, along with the matter being raised with the councillor as his weekly Saturday surgery at the Mount Sainsburys, led to Cllr Burke negotiating with Council Officer to get the work done.

The work started three weeks ago and will be completed by the middle of next week. The work included:

•Clearing the path and cutting back the vegetation
•Levelling the path surface
•Installing of timber edging
•Resurfacing with compacted recycled road planings
Cllr Burke said:

“This footpath is an important local link between Longwood and Salendine Nook.

It provides school and college pupils with direct access to the school grounds which is safer and quicker than walking along the road side. It also encourages them to get extra exercise and helps keep cars off the roads.

The path is also important for people wanting to make their way from Longwood to Salendine Nook, to Mount and to Lindley as well as being a popular route for dog walkers. Public Rights of Way play an important part in helping people of all ages keep active and healthy and need to be looked after.

I am really pleased that the Council has supported me in getting this work done after people raised the issue with me as their local councillor. I ask people using the path to take care of it and to report any issues such as littering or dog fouling to the council.”

Lindley Councillor Cahal Burke who in 2011 successfully fought off earlier plans to charge residents living around the HRI for parking outside their homes has re-launched his campaign on behalf of local residents.

Kirklees Labour Cabinet announced its plans to introduce a £30 charge per permit in its budget proposals for running the council in 2014/15 when it met on the 5 November.

9000 permits are currently issued by the Council with 1011 being issued to residents living on roads near the HRI.

The cost to local people would £15090.

Cllr Burke has launched a petition that can be accessed here: http://signme.org.uk/880

Cllr Burke said:

“The HRI is a major public service site that runs 24/7, 365 days year.

In terms of the Huddersfield area, this creates an almost unique set of circumstances for the residents living nearby.

I don’t think it is right for the Council to ask these residents – who show a great deal of goodwill to the hospital – to pay for permits without which they would find it almost impossible to park near their homes for the majority of the time.

I think the Cabinet needs to think about what local people put up with and to repay them by exempting them from the charge.

In fact, I think the Cabinet needs to give a great deal of more thought to this policy and whether it needs amending in other ways.

Their “one size fits all” approach shows little understanding of the diversity of our communities and little interest in talking to residents or shaping ideas to take account local issues. They only seem interested in the shortest route to increasing revenue for the council.

The hospital makes over £200k a year from their pay and display car parks, none of which goes to fund for patient care, but local residents are being asked to pay £15K to park outside their own homes across the road. It doesn’t seem fair.”

SIGN THE PETITION HERE:

http://signme.org.uk/880

Salendine Nook TRA recently hosted a cooking event which saw local youngsters preparing a meal for older residents living on Pennine Crescent.

The event – organised by Salendine Nook TRA, the Police and Cllr Cahal Burke – aimed to give local youngsters the chance to learn cooking skills whilst providing an opportunity to bring older and younger residents together in order to encourage better integration within the community.

The local branch of Sainsburys provided the food while Marsh DIY provided the cooking equipment.

Cllr Cahal Burke (pictured) who was involved in organising the event said:

“Often any problems between younger and older people are the result of the two groups living very separate lives. This sort of event, while giving the young people new life skills, gave everyone the chance to get to know each other on a personal level and to do away with some stereotypes which aren’t true and are actually stopping people getting along. I would like further activities like this to take place in the future and thank Sainsbury’s, Marsh DIY, Salendine Nook TRA and the Local Neighbourhood Policing Team for their support in getting this done.”

PCSO Hayley Hudson said:

“It was a really good day and everyone went home having made a new friend. It was lovely helping the children cook for the residents who all seemed to thoroughly enjoy the experience. Big thanks to the TRA, the residents, to Cllr Burke and to Sainsbury and Marsh DIY who supplied food and equipment. This sort of event should happen more often.”

At the recent meeting of Kirklees Council I spoke on a number of issues and raised concerns brought to my attention by local residents in the Lindley ward.

On the Local Development Framework Core Strategy debate I spoke of the importance of the Grimescar Valley which is in the Lindley ward. When the plans are being considered again I will do all I can with my party to protect Grimescar Valley and keep it out of the Local Development Framework Core Strategy. I is important to protect our green fields and greenbelt and do all we can to Save Grimescar Valley.

I pleaded with cabinet members to think long and hard about the proposals to expand Reinwood Schools by 210 places making it one of the biggest schools in the district. Expanding the school by 210 places will have a massive impact on the local raods and infrastructure in particular Willwood Avenue which struggles presently to cope with the volume of traffic. I will be working with residents and parents in the coming months to get their views across and fight for the best possible outcome. My preferred option has and still is the need for a new primary school in the Lindley ward to deal with the shortage of school places.

www.cahalburke.co.uk

www.facebook.com/CahalBurke

www.twitter.com/CahalBurke

Cllr Cahal Burke officially opens bicycle storage facility at Moorlands Primary School.

I was delighted to open the new bicycle storage facility at Moorlands Primary. With the support of organisations like Sustrans, Moorlands has done a great deal to give staff and pupils the option of making healthier, cleaner and cheaper journeys to and from the School each day.

The new bicycle storage facility demonstrates the School’s on going commitment to getting staff and pupils to make different choices about transport as part of active and healthy lifestyles.

www.moorlandsprimary.co.uk

www.sustrans.org.uk

The Huddersfield First Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helped to create a pathway in a residential area of Lindley as part of their “Helping Hands” programme.

The “Helping Hands” programme brings together members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with their neighbours to undertake community work. The “Helping Hands” programme reflects the desire of Mormons to follow the example of Jesus Christ by serving others and is intended to help improve people’s understanding and awareness of the church. Helping Hands is a worldwide programme with volunteers donating millions of hours of service to their communities.

The Huddersfield First Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is based on Halifax Road, Birchencliffe.

The Church contacted Cllr Cahal Burke when they were looking for projects for their biannual Helping Hands Day. Cllr Burke was aware that Bovis Homes had not been required to put in a footpath linking Blackthorn Drive to Brecon Avenue despite it clearly being needed and the developer having actually built steps up to the border where the path would begin. Thankfully, Church leaders involved in the Helping Hands programme agreed to take up the challenge.

Members worked with council officers and members of the community to clear a path that will makes it easier for residents to move about the estate and access the local the village. The work involved removing a fence, clearing debris, waste and vegetation.

Cllr Burke said:

“It’s really good of the church members to volunteer to create the path as part of their Helping Hands Day. Eventually I hope funding will be found to create an official, maintained path. However, until then – thanks to the help of the Church and local people – the situation has been immediately improved which I am immensely thankful for.”

Neville Oldham, local public affairs worker for the church, said:

“We never know how many people will be able to make time, in their busy lives, to come along and work with us, but we are delighted with the great turnout and all who came along and enjoyed working together and making a difference to our local community.”

Cllr Cahal Burke improving road safety near our schools

Ongoing efforts to improve road safety outside of Moorlands Primary in Mount have been boosted by the introduction of a 20mph zone outside the School.

The scheme came into force on Friday 6 September, covers the whole length of Moorlands Road, Moorlands Crescent and Shannon Drive and involves signage and one flat top speed hump to complement existing traffic calming feature.

Funding for the scheme was secured from Huddersfield Area Committee by Cllr Cahal Burke (Lib Dem, Lindley Ward) who undertook to set up the project in response to the concerns of parents, residents and school staff. The scheme has cost in the region £15k.

As part of the scheme, specially produced 20mph signs designed by pupils from the school have been situated along the length of the zone encouraging drivers to obey the new restrictions.

The introduction of the 20mph scheme is the latest element in a package of works to improve road safety outside the school.

Over two Years ago, following negotiations with the Council by Lib Dem Councillors for the area, Huddersfield YMCA generously gave permission for their car park to be used as part of a “Park n Stride” scheme. The scheme aimed to reduce the amount of traffic on Moorlands Road at peak times by getting parents to park up a little distance away and make the remainder of the journey by foot. The scheme has proved very popular and successful and has been supported and promoted to parents by the School. The School also has a daily Crossing Patrol while the local Neighbourhood Policing Team and the Council’s Traffic Enforcement Team have also regularly visited the School to ensure parents are obeying the traffic regulations outside the school gates.

Cllr Cahal Burke – Councillor for Lindley Ward said:

“The introduction of the 20mph zone and the children’s signs are the latest elements in a package of things we done over the last few years to improve road safety outside Moorlands Primary. In addition to the 20mph zone and signs, traffic calming is now in place along the road and a “Park n Stride” scheme set up with the help and support of the YMCA. The School has an ongoing commitment to working with and educating parents and pupils about road safety as well as having an excellent Crossing Patrol. The Council’s Enforcement Team and the Police also provide support to the School which we are very grateful for. Collectively our goal is to make the roads around the school safer and happier places to be and we are doing everything we can to achieve this.

Every month more than 1,000 British children are injured on roads near schools. In these incidents speed can be the key factor that determines whether a child will survive. Bringing the speed limit down to 20mph outside schools is the right thing to do and I would like to see it happen elsewhere as well.

Thanks have to go to everyone at the school, the parents, the crossing patrol, the police, the council and residents for their support. Thanks also need to go to the YMCA for supporting the “Park n Stride” scheme which has had a big impact. We will now be monitoring closely people’s observance of the new speed limits and working with the council and the police to make sure the it is enforced.”

Janet Thornton – Deputy Head, Moorlands Primary School said:

“The 20mph enforcement and additional traffic calming is a welcome addition in support of the safety of the children at Moorlands. Involving the children in designing the signs supported their understanding of the need for parents and other drivers to slow down and take extreme care near school.”

Cllr Burke improving road safety near our schools

Cllr Burke supporting recycling in our area.

A new bottle bank site has been set up at Birchencliffe Cricket Club to better serve residents in the surrounding areas. Residents can now recycle clear, green and brown glass at the site.

Since kerbside glass collections were abandoned by the Council in March 2013, Residents living in Birchencliffe and other parts of Lindley Ward on the Birkby side of Halifax Road have had to travel into the centre of Lindley Village to deposit their glass for recycling. Local residents took up the matter with their local Councillor Cahal Burke (Lib Dem) complaining that the existing recycling points were too far from their homes and that their location created other problems in terms of being able to easily drop off recyclables.

Cllr Burke said:

“Having abandoned kerbside glass collections the Council has a responsibility to ensure people have easy access to recycling points so that we keep up local recycling rates. While Lindley Village is a convenient place for lots of people it is less so for those who live in other parts of the wards. It is also of little use to those who do not have a car or find it difficult to walk a great distance, such as older people or those with a disability. I am really pleased that we have been able to set up a new recycling point at Birchencliffe and am happy to work with residents to find other suitable locations if they get in touch.”

In addition to securing the new recycling point, Cllr Burke has also succeeded in ensuring the council will more closely monitor the bottle banks and increase the number of times the most used bottle banks are emptied. People who want to find out about recycling in Kirklees including the location of their nearest glass recycling point can visit: http://www.kirklees.gov.uk/community/yourproperty/wasteRecycling.aspx

Cllr Cahal Burke and Lindley Community Group

Lindley Community Group – organisers of the Lindley Carnival and Lindley 10K charity running event – have presented a cheque for £1000 to the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, the Group’s selected charity for this year’s weekend extravaganza of community events.

The Group raised the £1000 through collections at the Carnival and at 10K. The cheque was presented to Sam Wood from the Hospice outside of the Forget Me Not Charity Shop in Lindley by Community Group Chair Cllr Cahal Burke and other members of Lindley Community Group.

Lindley Carnival took place on Saturday 29 June on the Fernlea Playing Fields. It was the popular events sixth year in a row after being reinvented in 2008 after an absence of 33 years.

This year’s carnival was officially opened by Lindley resident Mark Lillis who is Academy Manager with Huddersfield Town. The day saw over 1000 local residents enjoying performances from Lindley Brass Band and Lindley Junior School & Infant School choirs, food, drink, entertainments and activities for the whole family.

While the Carnival has reached its sixth anniversary, the Lindley 10K charity running event took place for the first time on the Sunday following the Carnival. Over 300 people took part in the 10K and fun run raising money for their selected charities.

Both events this year had been made possible by the volunteer members of Lindley Community Group which draws its membership from local churches, schools and businesses along with the funding and support of local sponsors and businesses. The Group now provide support to other Community Groups looking to replicate their successes.

Cllr Cahal Burke, Lib Dem Councillor and Chair of Lindley Community Group said:

“Lindley Community Group has worked really hard this year to deliver a weekend of events that people could get involved in and enjoy. None of it would have been possible without their hard work or without the continuing support of local businesses, the council, our sponsors and everyone who volunteered over the weekend. We are already planning next year’s carnival and are looking at running the 10K event for a second time. We’re all very happy to be able to present the cheque for £1000 to the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice which does invaluable work with children and families across the whole of Kirklees.”

If people want to get involved in the work of Lindley Community Group they can find out more here: http://www.lindleygroup.org.uk