Khalid Mahmood, the Green Party candidate for Heaton Ward in Bradford District, put forward a motion to the parties national conference in Birmingham.

The motion confirms the party’s support for the right of self-determination for the Kashmiri people and urges the UK government to use its influence with the governments of India and Pakistan to deliver a referendum.

The party also condemned the decision by the Indian government to revoke the special status the region enjoyed under the Indian constitution – effectively ending the autonomy the region had.

Khalid Mahmood said, “I am delighted that Green Party members recognised how important this issue is to the large community of British-Kashmiris.

“This gives the Green Party a platform to put pressure in the British government to demand that India and Pakistan deliver a proper referendum in the region and allow Kashmiri’s to determine their own future.”

The Green Party also condemned the decision earlier this year by the Indian government to revoked Article 370 – a long-standing agreement which gave Kashmir semi-autonomous status – leading to unrest as well as media blackouts, the cutting off of telephone networks and the banning of public gatherings.

Khalid added,

“In recent years we have seen a real escalation in the region with the attacks on Kashmiri human rights by Narendra Modi’s government as well as the change to the constitutional status of Kashmir. All of this will make peace in the region much harder.”

“The people of Bradford has always provided one of the strongest voices when it comes to standing up for oppressed people throughout the world and I know many in our city want to see a peaceful resolution to the problems in the region.”

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This comes after the Welsh government announced on Wednesday that it is freezing new road-building projects as part of its plans to tackle the climate emergency – and has appointed an external panel to review all proposed schemes.

Of the £875 million allocated as part of the West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund, £660 million is allocated to road building

programmes compared to just under £20 million to building railway stations – just a single new station across the county in Elland.

Leading these calls is Councillor Matt Edwards, who was elected to Bradford Council in May representing the Tong Ward in Bradford.

Tong Ward has two of the largest schemes being funded by WYCA, South East Bradford Access Road (often called the Tong Valley Road) and widening of A650 at Tong Street.

Councillor Edwards said, “New roads create new traffic. That’s a fact that Tracy Brabin and our Councils in West Yorkshire can’t escape.

“More traffic not only means more environment wrecking emissions being pumped into the air – it has a disastrous effect on the health of people living near these roads.

“The streets close to Tong Street are statistically ranked as some of the most unhealthy in our district largely due to air pollution and this vast amount of money needs to be invested in schemes which will deliver cleaner air and benefit our environment.

Councillor Andrew Cooper, a councillor from Kirklees (Newsome Ward) who was also the Green Party candidate for West Yorkshire Mayor added,

“The Labour-led Welsh government is showing real leadership with their announcement earlier this week and they are showing they understand the level of commitment needed if we want to tackle the climate emergency.

“I hope Tracy Brabin will take heed of the science and reverse West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s fixation with spending hundreds of millions on environment-wrecking schemes.”

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Andrew Cooper, Green Party candidate for Mayor of West Yorkshire has branded the figure – £105,000 a year as “excessive” and has pledge to only accept the average West Yorkshire wage of £26,000 a year if he is elected in 6th May.

Andrew said: “At a time when we know the economy is not going to be doing well and many people across our region are worried about their jobs it seems in poor taste for our Councils in to agree to such an excessive pay package for the first mayor of West Yorkshire.

“If I am elected, I would be too embarrassed to accept such a salary so I pledge to donate the remaining £79,000 to schemes that help community organizations that are suffering financial hardship and can’t find help from any other source”.

The figure agreed by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority is significantly more than metro mayors in other regions – The mayor Sheffield City Region is paid £79,000 a year, while Liverpool City Region’s metro mayor is paid £80,631.

Andrew added,

“I believe strongly that the Mayor’s salary ought to be linked to the fortunes of the people they seek to represent. I commit to using my position to help organisations and individuals thrive across the region and could not possibly accept such a large salary while others are struggling in the wake of the pandemic”.

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Campaigner Kate Needham says that she received a call from a resident in Cantley that workmen were chopping the cherry tree down close by her house on Willow Avenue – contrary to the new street tree policy.

The new tree policy was agreed following protests about the unnecessary felling of 64 trees in Middlefield Road in Bessacarr.

Kate Needham said, “When challenged, the workmen stopped the felling and began pruning nearby instead but I contacted DMBC to remind them they had agreed that the public are supposed to be notified and a thorough investigation should be carried out before trees are felled.”

“I have now been told that the original reason for felling the trees had already been resolved so the planned felling is completely unnecessary.

“It is becoming clear that there is dysfunction at the heart of the Doncaster Council tree team where new policy and ways of working are not being effectively relayed to the workforce.”

Last month, Doncaster Council released a statement to the press saying that has committed to the principle of “minimal tree removal” as a last resort and where no alternative solution can be found.

Green Party Mayoral Candidate, Warren Draper said,

“Street trees are valued by local residents and play an important part in protecting our local environment. They provide homes to birds and their removal as we approach Spring is particularly problematic during breeding season.

“You would expect that with all the negative attention regarding the unnecessary felling of street trees in Bessacarr and the fact that they have made such a big deal of their new policy that the council would be trying to get things right.

“Is it any wonder that trust in our elected politicians is so low when one minute the Council is saying one thing, then when they think no one is looking they do another.”

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Rishi Sunak has been accused of “putting his party first” after the council in his own affluent constituency was given top priority in the allocation of a new £4.8bn ‘Levelling Up Fund’ – ahead of Kirklees and Calderdale.Councillor Andrew Cooper, the Green Party’s candidate in this year’s West Yorkshire Mayoral election has said,
“This is the latest in a long list of instances where this government has acted in the interest of its donors and supporters rather than the country as a whole.

“Richmondshire is in the top 25% most wealthy parts of the country so I am absolutely baffled by the logic in prioritising it ahead of Kirklees and Calderdale. Our councils have seen a substantial decrease in budgets over the last ten years and could easily be described as places in most need of ‘leveling up’.

“This is a really staggering conflict of interest how the Chancellor is so blatantly putting his own constituency ahead of areas that need investment much more.”

The other three council’s in West Yorkshire – Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield – were also ranked in the top priority category with Richmondshire District Council.

Other affluent councils in North Yorkshire such as York, Harrogate, Craven and Hambledon were placed in the lowest priority category.

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Councillor Wood who has been a Councillor representing the rural Sprotborough Ward for the last twelve years.

Councillor Wood said, “I’m proud to be a new member for the Green Party. For some time, it has been clear to me that the interests of rural communities like Sprotbrough, and others like it, have not been well served by Doncaster Council.

“It’s become increasingly apparent that the Conservatives are failing to respond the action we desperately need on environmental issues. Even a climate emergency seems to make little or no change to their direction.

“I’ve always been especially vocal about protecting the Green Belt, highlighting the dangers from over development around flood zones, proper environmental protection, and common sense tree policies that don’t just chop them down because they’re in the way.

“Whilst I wish all my former colleagues in the Conservative Party well, I am simply unable to stand with them as they stand-by doing nothing to leave politics, or more importantly the environment in a better place than they found it”

Tony Nicholson, a spokesperson from Doncaster Green Party, said,

“I’m really pleased Jonathan has chosen to join the Green Party. We have worked well with him over a number of years, particularly on planning issues when the quality of our local environment has been under threat. We are very happy to welcome him to the Green Party.”

Councillor Wood has been selected as one of the two Green Party candidates for the Sprotborough Ward in the upcoming local elections in May along with local Parish Councillor Fiona Cahill.

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This was one of Yorkshire’s most controversial planning applications in decades due to the negative environmental damage airport expansion would cause.

Planning officers had recommended approving the application despite a significant amount of opposition from across West Yorkshire.

Nine Leeds councillors voted to approve the plans and five including Green councillor, David Blackburn (Farnley & Wortley Ward), voted against.

Councillor Andrew Cooper, Green Party Candidate for Mayor of West Yorkshire Mayor and a Kirklees Councillor, said

“This is incredibly disappointing news and takes us backwards in our response to the climate crisis.

“This ruling today just makes a mockery of how our councils here in West Yorkshire are responding to their climate commitments. There is simply no room for airport expansion in a climate emergency. It just does not make sense when the UK as a whole has to reduce its carbon emissions as quickly as possible.

“This has been a real ‘David and Goliath’ story as, on the one side is a large global pension fund who own the airport, and on the other is a crowd-funded campaign and lots of hard work by ordinary but committed people, including many Green Party members.

“Leeds Council have sent a clear message that commercial interests are more important than the views of local people, the protection of our environment and the wellbeing of future generations.”

Bradford Council in particular came under fire after it told Leeds City Council that it has ‘no objection’ to the airport’s planning application. Campaigners have accused the Labour-run authority of ignoring its own Climate Emergency declaration.

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It has been revealed that under the Green Homes Grant only 5% of the allocated £1.5bn budget for householders has been awarded. The scheme was launched in September and has already been extended to March 2022 as a consequence of the lack of takeup.

Councillor Andrew Cooper, who worked in the energy efficiency sector for nearly 20 years, said,

“There are serious questions that need to be answered about how the Green Homes Grants scheme can have been administered so poorly with a mix of snails pace administration and a severe lack of approved installers.

“I directed a householder in the ward I represent to the scheme when it was launched months ago and she still hasn’t got the go ahead despite all the necessary information being provided.”

The grants were intended to help 600,000 householders to make their homes more energy efficient and less CO2 intensive. The scheme offered vouchers up to the value of £5000 for private householders wanting to install solar panels, heat pumps and a wide range of insulation measures.

Councillor Cooper has proposed a new future for the Green Homes Grant under the new Mayoral Combined Authority,

“The West Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority has responsibility for skills and training and is taking a leading role in action to address climate change. It makes perfect sense to let West Yorkshire manage its share of the Green Homes Grant itself.

“We have a real opportunity to grow the skills to deliver renewable technology and insulation fitting right here in West Yorkshire ourselves. To do that it needs a sustained programme of support for training and development for local installers.

“This is a perfect example of where centralised control is failing and where a devolution could make a real difference.”

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Over the weekend, flood warnings were in place at Pudsey Beck where water levels have risen as a result of the recent persistent rainfall. In Wortley, the lower ring road also flooded due to the heavy rainfall.

Photographs from local residents showed that the network of becks that run through the valley all burst their banks on Saturday.

Councillor Ann Forsaith (Farnley & Wortley Ward – Leeds) said “It’s really worrying to see our communities in West Leeds experiencing flooding this weekend, and more people being put at risk of flooding in the future.

“We are seeing more and more, ‘freak’ weather leading to flooding in our communities and we need to face facts that this is being driven by choices being made locally – from planning decisions to cuts to local services like drainage.

“Our green spaces act as an important natural defence as rain water is soaked in and takes longer to enter water courses. But when you build on these green spaces, rain is able to get into the waterways quicker which leads to flooding.

On Monday (7th February), Bradford Council will start a public consultation on its Local Plan. The current draft proposal includes 325 housing sites with 21% being within the Green Belt. The draft highlights the Tong Valley and Holmewood as being a particular focus area with 2,200 houses being suggested for the area.

Matt Edwards, Green Party community campaigner for Tong Ward added, “There is already a long list of reasons why the Tong Valley is not a suitable place to build 2,200 houses – and the associated link road – and what happened this weekend perfectly demonstrates one of them.

“We can’t just keep building more without any regard for our local environment. The Tong Valley is the last area of Green space between Bradford and Leeds and it acts as an important defence for flooding for Wortley and Pudsey.

“It is clear that Bradford Council hasn’t fully grasped the reality of the climate change we’re already experiencing locally. Big changes need to be made in the way we plan for the future and we can’t just keep carrying on the way we have been.

“Instead of trying to build on green spaces, we should be looking at ways to protect this area for future generations.”

The post Bradford and Leeds Greens warn housebuilding plans for Tong Valley could lead to more flooding in West Leeds appeared first on Yorkshire & The Humber Green Party.

Councillor Andrew Cooper, who is also a councillor from Huddersfield has called for the local authorities to look at what other areas are doing to try and reduce the issue.

January is regarded as the worst month of the year for fly tipping with the first Friday of the year dubbed as “Fly-tipping Friday” because it is regarded to be Britain’s worst day for illegal dumping of unwanted goods and discarded rubbish.

Councillor Cooper said, “Councils across West Yorkshire consistently feature at the top of the fly tipping rankings and we really need to try new ideas.”

“Fly tipping is a scourge on our local communities and we have to make life as uncomfortable as possible for the people who dump rubbish in our local environment. We’ve got to be clear that this is not a victimless crime.

“We are seeing increasing evidence the fly tipping is a cross council issue with rogue traders crossing the council boundaries to dump waste. This is a problem we need to work on together.

One example, is the ‘Shop a tipper’ campaign launched by Wolverhampton Council which encourages residents who spot fly tippers to report the offender to the council for a £100 reward following the payment of a Fixed Penalty Notice or a successful prosecution.

Councillor Cooper added, “In other parts of the country they are trying new ideas and I would like to see more of them trialled here in Yorkshire.

“If this incentive makes more people look out for the number plates of those chucking rubbish out of cars vans and trucks then it is worth every penny.”

“The new position of West Yorkshire mayor is an opportunity to encourage much more collaboration between our local authorities.”

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