Colne Valley Liberal Democrats

Cllr Cahal Burke is set to take on the Greater Manchester Marathon challenge to raise money and awareness for the Mayor's Charity Appeal which this year is the Yorkshire Regiment Benevolent Trust.

The marathon will take place on 28th April, starting and finishing at Old Trafford stadium. The first Manchester Marathon was run in 1908. This was the first ever amateur marathon to be run using the now established marathon distance of 26 miles 385 yard distance.

At the meeting of Kirklees Council on Wednesday 18 March 2013, all four opposition groups voted to oppose the Police and Crime Commissioner's (PCC) plans to appoint a Labour Party Deputy on £53K a year and instructed the Chief Executive to write to the PCC advising them of Council's position.

Following prolonged delaying tactics by the Leading Labour Group who were keen for the motion not to be debated and a heated round of exchanges, Liberal Democrat, Independent, Green and Conservative members voted in favour of the emergency motion defeating Labour by a small margin.

Elderly council tenants at Fern Lea Flats in Lindley are to protest against Kirklees Cabinet's decision to remove age restrictions on who can apply to live in different properties across the borough.

With Councillor Cahal Burke, the tenants are planning to attend the meeting of Kirklees Cabinet in March to formally protest the decision and submit their petition signed by tenants of the flats.

Following the announcement by Mark Burns-Williams, current Police and Crime Commissioner for West Yorkshire, that he intends to appoint a Labour Party Member on £53K a year to act as his Deputy, Kirklees Lib Dems have submitted an emergency Motion for debate at next Wednesday's Council meeting so members have a chance to debate and oppose the appointment.

Cllr Andrew Marchington, who was the Liberal Democrat Candidate for the position of West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner last year, has strongly criticised the current Commissioner's plans to recruit a Deputy from only Labour Party members on a salary of over £50K a year.

Cllr Marchington said:

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has closed the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference in Brighton by calling on members to spread the message of the Party's commitment in Government to deliver a stronger economy and a fairer society.

In his keynote Leader's speech, Nick paid tribute to the work of the Party in winning the Eastleigh by-election, beating the Conservatives into third place and squeezing Labour while campaigning on the Lib Dem record of delivering in Government.

PCSO's patrolling Lindley Ward collected new patrol bikes this Saturday at 2.30pm from the Velocity Bike Shop in Lindley.

The purchase of the two new patrol bikes was funded by Huddersfield Area Committee.

Members of the committee agreed that that the £1221 investment would enable officers to patrol the area more effectively, both in terms of response times and the undertaking of general patrols. They also agreed that the bikes would help residents to feel more secure by allowing police to increase their visibility across the area.

Liberal Democrat Councillors representing Golcar and the Colne Valley Wards are calling for Kirklees to make a strategic investment of £5m to improve traffic flow and help make the Colne Valley even more attractive to existing and prospective businesses.

A key element of the plan will be the building of a new bridge across the River Colne.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Linda Wilkinson welcomes the proposed re-surfacing to what has been deemed as one of Huddersfield's worst roads according to a recent survey. The proposed road re-surfacing will be carried out on Fernside Avenue from its junction with Town End up to the entrance of Almondbury High School.

Almondbury is to benefit from much needed road safety scheme around Almondbury High School and Greenside Infant School.

Cllr Phil Scott (LibDem Cllr for Almondbury):

"As local councillor for Almondbury, I am pleased to say that the safety concerns of local residents and the school community's have been communicated to and acted upon by Kirklees Council.