Category: Richard Davies

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East of Otley Elections Richard Davies

Re-elect Richard Davies

Re-elect Thursday 4 May Richard DAVIES For Otley Town Council Labour (white text on red background)
Richard Davies in a waterproof coat, field behind
Danefield ward – your Labour town council candidate
Re-elect Thursday 4 May Richard DAVIES For Otley Town Council Labour (white text on red background)

For the past two years, I have been an active and committed Otley Town Councillor for Danefield Ward, working together with residents, other councillors and officers, community groups and businesses to tackle things that needed doing.

This has not always been easy, but working collaboratively with other people and groups I have been able to progress a number of my priorities and resolve problems which have cropped up. Here are a few examples:

East of Otley: I am heavily involved in talks with Leeds City Council planners, the town council, and community groups, such as Otley 2030, to make a robust response to unsuitable development proposals. I submitted a 10-page detailed response and was also active in discussions with LCC Rights of Way staff about formally recognising footpaths around the Cambridge estate.

Anti-Social Behaviour: Drug-dealing and associated anti-social behaviour in the ward has upset nearby residents. I worked with the local police, LCC Housing and Anti-Social Behaviour Teams, and other councillors to address the issue of problem tenants being placed near vulnerable people. This led to a stronger response from the authorities, and the issues seem to have been resolved to the satisfaction of the residents.

Community Facilities: Otley needs more community facilities and has too many empty buildings. I’ve worked for two years with the Town Council and community groups to deliver the 3G Artificial sports pitch at Prince Henry’s. I help organise the Otley Live Music Festival. I’m also involved in developing a community bid to acquire the Methodist Church for community use.

Workers in orange hi-viz overalls operating vehicle-mounted drain clearing equipment, lowering a hose into the opened road drain

Street Cleansing: A number of areas in the ward haven’t had their gullies or drains cleaned for years due to on-street parking. I liaised with LCC to organise a day of action to sweep streets and pavements and jetwash blocked gullies around Cambridge Street.

Road Safety:I pushed for speed indicator devices (SIDs) to be used at speeding hotspots in Danefield Ward. The Leeds Road SID will be relocated, and one or two more may be set up on larger roads in the next two years, based on traffic surveys. There are also plans for 20mph zones in many parts of town.

Potholes: Various streets in the ward – such as Albion St, South View Terrace and Orchard Street – have poor road surfaces. Full resurfacing is not planned in the near future, so I liaised with LCC Highways to persuade them to patch surfaces and fill potholes in the meantime.

Richard’s priorities

for Danefield ward in the next 4 years

East of Otley Development: work with planners, city and town councillors and community groups to stop an inappropriate development and make sure the plans provide quality sustainable homes, affordable housing for young people, more green spaces and sites for sports clubs, and less traffic coming into the town.

Community Facilities: work with local groups and the Town Council to acquire a community hub to provide spaces for local groups to meet and widen the range of cultural events.

Cleaner Streets: work with senior Leeds councillors and officers to get better local services, especially pothole-filling, blocked drains and street cleaning.

Road Safety: lobby Town Council colleagues to prioritise speed indicator devices in and around Danefield Ward where speed limits are ignored.

Bus Services: keep working with West Yorkshire Combined Authority and bus companies to get more reliable bus services round the Cambridge Estate.

Access to the Chevin: work with Leeds to restart the Chevin Users Forum and look at ways to improve parking, signposting and access from the town, making the Chevin a better place for the community and the environment.

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Otley town council Richard Davies

Richard Davies – Labour Candidate for Otley Town Council Danefield Ward

The candidates for the Town Council election on Thursday, 4th May have now been confirmed. I am proud to be standing again as Labour candidate for my home ward and I am committed to working hard again to try and get things done, both in the ward and around Otley in general.

I thought I would share a summary of some of the many things I have done in just two years as a councillor. My commitment is to carry on working hard for all Danefield residents whatever their politics and I will post my priorities shortly in another post.

There are a lot of candidates standing in the ward, so please vote for someone who will work hard after the election for the good of the town!

Richard Davies on the Irish fields, Otley
Richard Davies, Otley town councillor for Danefield ward

For the past two years, I’ve been an active and committed town councillor working together with residents, other councillors and officers, community groups and businesses to tackle things that needed doing, in line with my stated priorities.

This hasn’t always been easy and I’ve met many roadblocks, but by working with others, we’ve been able to progress a number of initiatives and resolve problems. Here are a few of these developments:

East of Otley

I played a significant role in discussions with Leeds city council (LCC) planners, the town council and community groups like Otley 2030 to ensure a robust response to the ill thought-out development proposals. My own response ran to 10 pages. The development is now paused while planners try to revise proposals into something that could meet the community’s needs, but I’ll be ready to re- engage when these emerge. I was also active in discussing the formal recognition of footpaths around the Cambridge estate with LCC rights of way staff, which was largely successful.

Anti-social behaviour

Recent examples of drug- dealing and linked anti-social behaviour in the ward have caused a fair bit of upset to nearby residents. I liaised with local police, LCC housing and anti-social behaviour teams, and other councillors, to bring together agencies to tackle this, and the issue of problem tenants being housed near vulnerable people. This action got a more robust response from the authorities and the problems appear to have been resolved.

Potholes

Various streets in the ward – such as Albion St, South View Terrace and Orchard Street – have poor road surfaces and resurfacing is planned in the next two years. In the meantime I’ve persuaded LCC Highways to patch some of these and fill in potholes.

Street cleansing

Workers in orange hi-viz overalls operating vehicle-mounted drain clearing equipment, lowering a hose into the opened road drain

A number of areas in Danefield ward haven’t been cleaned for many years, due to on- street parking. I liaised with LCC staff to organise a day of action to sweep streets and pavements and jetwash blocked gullies.

Road safety

I’ve lobbied colleagues to introduce speed indicator devices at hotspots in and around Danefield ward. There is a possibility that one or two may be installed over the next two years on larger roads, following traffic surveys, along with proposals for 20mph zones across much of the town.

Community facilities

Otley has fewer community facilities compared to some towns, reducing our ability to develop the local economy. Over two years, I’ve worked with the town council and community groups to help deliver the 3G artificial sports pitch at Prince Henry’s school (construction start January 2023). I’ve also helped organise the Otley Live music festival, and explored whether the Methodist church could be acquired for community use. The town council plans to gather evidence of facilities needed across the town.

Contact Richard Davies

Please contact me at richard.davies@otleytowncouncil.gov.uk if you have any questions.

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Richard Davies

Pre-election period

As we have now entered the legal pre-election period, posts promoting Richard Davies are now promoted by Richard Davies on his own behalf at Otley & Yeadon Labour Party, Nelson Street, LS21 1EZ

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East of Otley Otley and Yeadon Branch News Otley town council Richard Davies

Labour Party objection to the East of Otley Planning Application – full text (10 pages)

Here you can download the full text of Otley and Yeadon Labour Party’s detailed 10-page objection to the East of Otley Hybrid Planning Application 21/01671/OT.

Download the full objection to the planning application

Labour Party objection to East of Otley planning applicationDownload
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East of Otley Otley and Yeadon Branch News Otley town council Richard Davies

Labour Party Objects to the East of Otley Planning Application

John Richardson Chair of the branch says “The plans as they stand fail to give enough detail about the way it will be developed. They don’t say when the school will be built, they don’t give enough detail about how damage to the environment will be minimised and they don’t give enough detail about the quality, design and energy efficiency of the houses. If built I want this to be an exemplar development that demonstrates the very best in house building.”

The Labour Party’s detailed submission identifies many examples of where the plans fail to comply with planning guidance, including the requirements set out in the Otley Neighbourhood Plan which was agreed in a referendum by a huge majority in 2020.

Our submission raises concerns about the lack of detail available about the provision of affordable housing. It states that the Otley and Yeadon Labour Party is firmly committed to the provision of genuinely affordable housing: a significant proportion of which should be offered for rent and shared ownership. It points out that many children who grow up in Otley cannot afford to rent or buy here.

Our objection asks for much more transparency about the profits that the developers expect to make. It highlights the risk that, in order to make excessive profits, the developers are not being explicit about the amount of affordable housing that will be built.

It also challenges the plan to increase from 550 to over 700 the numbers of houses built. It points out that no justification has been provided for this. Increased numbers will put even more pressure on schools and health services and further damage local wildlife habitats.

Along with many other organisations in Otley, the Labour Party has serious reservations about the traffic analysis that has been carried. It has insufficient detail and minimises the impact of many more cars on the road. Our response point out that Otley centre is at least a 15 minute’s walk away and proposes that the development of community facilities such as a local shop/café in a “village hub”could reduce traffic and promote community cohesion.

Our objection also echoes the detailed criticisms of the plans to reduce damage to existing wildlife habitats and create new ones made by Wildlife Friendly Otley and others.

Labour Town Councillor Richard Davies says “The application as it stands is totally inadequate as the basis for the biggest development in Otley for a generation. It fails to comply with the Otley Neighbourhood Plan and will seriously damage our local environment. Local people have a right to expect better and the level and quality of their responses highlights the need for their concerns to be heard.”

Download the full 10 page objection here