Letter to the Telegraph and Argus published 23rd January 2012:

There is a shortage of school places for children across Bradford, which has been highlighted in a number of T&A articles recently.

This situation clearly demonstrates the lack of foresight when it comes to the Labour Council’s judgement, and it’s future plans in the Local Development Framework.

In Baildon, one of the sites earmarked for 94 houses, in the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment, is the former Ferniehurst Primary School.

I attended this school myself, and since its demolition, the surrounding area has lost a great deal of social capital. Other schools in Baildon have been forced to expand, reducing the size of school playing fields, and some residents have been refused places.

As a result of this poor judgement and policies, traffic problems have also increased. Residents here are forced to transport children to schools elsewhere, while parents from around the district are transporting their children here.

Any plan to increase housing on the scale being proposed must include sufficient infrastructure to support it, and be in place before further development takes place.

This should include, but not be limited to, transport networks, schools, emergency services, hospitals, and social care provision. Without this, we are seriously jeopardising the safety and welfare of people that live here.

So, for Baildon at least, let’s consider re-building the Ferniehurst School, instead of making this problem worse.

Ian Lyons, Liberal Democrat candidate, Cliffe Avenue, Baildon

New Events

As promised, we are fully committed to providing as open a form of local government as possible, with the opportunity for everyone to make their contribution, in a variety of ways, including new media and social events. We have already held a successful cheese and wine night, and we plan to do much more.

Next event: ‘Pizza and Politics’.

Click Here for more details and Events.

A short history of the Liberal Party in Baildon has been published by Stewart Main, and is now available here on our website.

Ian Lyons, the Liberal Democrat Candidate, said ‘It is important to know the past in order to understand the present, and guide the future. Horace Chapman, who was elected here in 1956, said the purpose of the Liberals was to do away with the old-fashioned secrecy, and Council Meetings were made open to the public. He said electors should be better-informed and frequent ‘any questions’ sessions were held, with the answers published in the paper. I would like to see a return to this type of open local government, which is why I regularly hold discussion groups on the internet, and in person. People lead very different lives these days, and not everyone can attend public meetings, but they still deserve to know what decisions are being made, who is making them, and to share their opinion. New media is an excellent way to achieve that.’

Baildon has a wonderful Liberal tradition, and we hope that it will continue long into the future.

‘We will serve you, and serve you well!’ – Newton Clough, elected in Baildon 1951.

Photo by Cllr John Cole at Heygate Close.

We Always Do Our Best to Help.

Just eight weeks ago, despite the Christmas Holiday, Mrs Sherwin, a resident at Heygate Close, visited our Councillors Surgery and asked us to investigate a housing issue that had been ongoing for years, and the source of a great deal of stress.We are pleased to report that after an investigation, and several meetings, Ian Lyons (the Liberal Democrat Candidate) was able to resolve the matter, resulting in a suitable amount of compensation for Mrs Sherwin’s losses. Ian said ‘This is wonderful news for Mrs Sherwin, and I am delighted we were able to help so quickly. We are putting a lot of effort into helping dozens of people, groups, and organisations is Baildon lately, and this is the kind of good news story that makes everything we are doing worthwhile.’

If you have an issue that you think we can help with, please get in touch. We are available in person at our Surgeries, or by request via email, telephone, facebook, twitter, old fashion pen and ink or just fill out our form on the next issue of FOCUS. It would be great to hear from you.

One of the many accidents that blocked Baildon Bridge last year – by Ian Lyons

Progress Has Been Made – But it’s not enough!

We are pleased to report that the Traffic Signal Unit have now implemented a traffic light synchronisation scheme at the Otley Road/Green Lane junction, which will provide a ‘gap’ in the flow of traffic on Otley Road to help reduce the queues at Green Lane. However, the scheme is only operational during off peak times (0930 to 1600hrs and 1830 to 2100hrs), which we believe is woefully inadequate.

Ian Lyons, who has been campaigning for improvements at this junction since early 2011, wrote back to the portfolio holder David Green (Labour) and said:

‘I am really pleased that we have made some progress on this, and that the traffic signal system you mentioned appears to be up and running. This is a great step in the right direction. However, this will not prevent another serious accident or death, which I believe is most likely to occur during peak times.’

Ian also raised a number of technical points, and described the unique geographical significance of the site, including suggestions for funding. However, Cllr Green replied stating ‘There is no funding available for the major scheme that would allow us to carry out the major works needed due to cuts in the Highways Budgets.’ He said this, despite a huge capital reserve at City Hall (estimated between £50-180M), which he described as ‘overstated’.

Needless to say, we will be working hard to solve this problem, but we need your help!

Fill out the form on the next issue of Baildon Focus OR

Visit the Baildon Community Link on Cliffe Avenue and put your name down in person. OR

Send us a signed letter with your name and address stating your support for this project. OR

Sign the Online Petition.

We have been complaining about this in Baildon for over thirty years. Let’s do something about it!

Ian Lyons and some Baildon Residents enjoying a Christmas Day lunch.

No Need To Be Alone For Dinner On Christmas Day!

Thanks to a scheme run by the Salvation Army in Shipley, no-one needs to be alone on Christmas Day. Ian Lyons, the Liberal Democrat Candidate, helped organise this years event by providing transport and serving lunch with other volunteers from the Shipley area.

If you know of someone who would benefit from this activity next year, please let us know.

Much Needed Nursing Home Under Threat As Conservatives Throw A Spanner In The Works.

Baildon Conservatives are under fire after objecting to a much needed nursing home for our area.

A £3M ‘state of the art’ nursing home is being proposed at the disused Laverly House site on West Lane in Baildon. This could create 60 new local jobs and provide a desperately needed facility, but the local Conservative team are objecting to it.

We can’t believe anyone would be opposed to this development. If you need a nursing home in this area you will be lucky to get somewhere in Shipley, and more likely to have to travel much further afield. In our opinion, if a successful local entrepreneur, with considerable experience in this field, is willing to make a large social investment, during these tough economic times, they should be encouraged and supported. Clearly, the development needs to meet all the planning requirements, and we’ll be making sure that any concerns are dealt with. If you have a view either for or against please make sure your voice is heard.

You can make your comments by clicking here.

To see the T&A article click here.

“This is about loyalty to the people that live in our community and can no longer look after themselves.”

Santa Delivers On Time!

This is the moment that all that hard work raising more than £3000 finally paid off. The smile on his face says it all!

Thank you to everyone who took part making contributions online, and in all of the fundraising activities that have happened since October, when this began. Thanks to your help a young member of our community in Baildon suffering with Perthe’s disease will be able to enjoy a more fulfilling lifestyle, and exercise on a brand new specially designed bike.

It’s still not too late to make a contribution to Downs Syndrome Training and Support Services who helped make this possible. Click here.

Presented at the ‘Wharfedale and Airedale Friday Luncheon Club’ (WAFL) – Christmas Lunch, at the Queens Hotel in Leeds.

Photos by Julie Thwaites.

Partnership formed with the local community to improve bus services, and keep the elderly out of the cold in winter.

Bradford’s operations manager Khadim Hussain met with Ian Lyons, Liberal Democrat Candidate, today to discuss the failures in service throughout the year and how to tackle the problem by working together. Ian’s primary concern is keeping the vulnerable out of the cold, which was the cause of 21800 deaths last year, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Ian was first alerted to the problem when a concerned resident from Heygate Close in Baildon came along to our regular Councillor’s Surgery at the beginning of November.

During the meeting with Mr Hussain he explained the improvements that have already been made:

-An increase in staff training for drivers, in particular with customer services.

-An extensive recruitment drive in May to tackle staff shortages.

-The addressing of management issues and incident management training, with disciplinary action where necessary.

-Addressing the Equality and diversity issues surrounding public holidays, that caused some service delays.

Looking to the future, over the coming months Mr Hussain has agreed to work with Ian to develop a scheme for ‘back up’ drivers, which will prevent delays and cancellations during the winter months. Ian said ‘There are so many easy ways that the local government can work in partnership with companies like First to improve the health and well-being in our communities. Partnerships like these will provide efficiency savings for everyone involved, and better outcomes for the public transport and highways that we all use. I congratulate First and Mr Hussain for taking this important ‘First’ step.’