Kirklees Council’s Cabinet ‘running scraed’ of house-building plan

Jun 30 2009 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Clr Dodds said there was strong opposition to all the proposals. He said: “The Liberal/Labour administration supported the proposals until the consultation showed overwhelming public opposition to all four options.”

Clr Dodds called on the Cabinet to scrap the LDF. He said: “They should have the courage to say they are rejecting the Government proposals out of hand.”

However, council leader Clr Mehboob Khan pointed out that the Conservatives had run Kirklees from 2006 until January this year.

The Labour man said: “Clr Dodds comments reveal an astonishing level of incompetence in the former Tory administration. Over a period of two years, they worked up the four LDF options. Is he suggesting that council staff worked for two years on development options without the guidance of their political masters?

“Either he is conceding an incredible failure to direct council staff and is therefore grossly incompetent, or he is attempting to deliberately mislead the public.”

Clr Khan added that the Cabinet had listened to local opposition to the building plans.

He said: “We have listened intently to local people and acted swiftly to address genuine concerns. We all know that more housing is needed but the Tories have failed in their options to consider the full effects on the greenbelt and building houses in the flood plain.”