Your Leeds local election 2018 A to Z: Guiseley and Rawdon

THE CANDIDATESBavage, Katherine Rebecca Henrietta - Liberal Democrats Buxton, Bob - The Yorkshire Party Dowling, Cynthia May - Liberal DemocratsEdwards, Michael David - Liberal Democrats Latty, Graham Naylor - Conservative Party Latty, Pat - Conservative Party McCargo, Ian Joseph - Labour and Cooperative Party McKay, Kirsty - Labour and Co-operative Party Rollinson, Mark Terence - Green '¨Party - Save Our Green Space Thomson, Andrew Joseph - Labour and Cooperative Party Wadsworth, Paul John - Conservative Party

Guiseley: Pic: Michael Taylor / Wikimedia Commons

GUISELEY AND RAWDON - KEY ISSUES AND NUMBERS

The issue of housing development on green belt land is at the forefront of voters’ minds in Guiseley and Rawdon.

This traditionally Conservative rural ward is another where locals feel, to some level, that their green belt is “under attack” from swathes of proposed new housing.

One interesting additional concern seems to be the fact it could end up linking the ward to Bradford.

As one campaigner explained: “We are close to Bradford here and we don’t want to be joined up if we can avoid it.”

The issue is that development over the border is edging close to Menston – as is much of the planned housing on the Guiseley and Rawdon side.

The issue of congestion and traffic generally is “ever present” in this part of rural Leeds.

Parking in the town centre is at a premium, and there are “too many cars and too few spaces”.

Congestion is a major issue, both in the town centres and for the traffic passing through.

At the Yeadon/Rawdon end of the ward, problems with parking have been exacerbated by a business that came in four years ago.

Although a big employer bringing welcome jobs, Emis’s arrival also brought an overflow of cars which now tend to clog up residential streets.

As a result, requests for new residential parking schemes are popping up again and again on the doorstep.

Additionally, the A65 runs through middle of ward, and this is one of the main roads into Leeds.

The other way, it goes to Carlisle, with visitor hotspots like Ilkley and Skipton on the way, adding to the traffic woes.

Issues like anti-social behaviour have been a source of worry recently, with waves of trouble in the summer months.

The demographic in the ward is mixed, but one in five voters are over 65. The retired community is significant in both size and affluence, and this could well have a bearing on which way voters go.