Your Leeds local election 2018 A to Z: Calverley and Farsley

Calverley and Farsley - key issues and numbers

Protection of the green belt is a major issue for many residents in Calverley and Farsley.

The west Leeds ward is made up of various village communities with large green spaces separating them, and by and large, they want to keep it that way.

The expansive ward also covers Rodley, Woodhall and the fringes of Pudsey and Thornbury.

The protective pleas are as much about preserving individual village identities as they are about any perceived NIMBYism, something that locals would vehemently deny. They believe they have taken their fair share of new housing developments over the years, and there is somewhat of a sense of ‘enough is enough’.

The feeling is that brownfield land - previously developed sites - should be a priority for house building, rather than a relentless, as some see it, attack on the countryside.

The ongoing concerns are perfectly illustrated by the long-running saga of Kirklees Knoll. It’s a strategic piece of farmland on the ring road, a buffer between Farsley, Rodley and Bradford.

When plans for 400 homes on the site were submitted a few years ago, it led to an uproar. After several years of to and fro, and a planning application that was thrown out, the developer’s subsequent appeal was also rejected by the Secretary of state. The judgement noted the “adverse impacts” of the plan and its potential “harm to character and appearance of the surrounding area and to the landscape”.

But the saga is not over - and a high court appeal is pending.

The core demographic of Calverley and Farsley is a middle class, predominantly white population.

But it is not exclusively so, and there is a significant BME community.

One campaigner describes the overall character as “aspirational”, with long term established families and older people, and a growing young, professional population.

What will win your votes in Calverley and Farsley? Email [email protected].