Bradford City Hall. ALTHOUGH major political parties make up the bulk of the 90 members of Bradford Council, independents and smaller parties have had a major impact on the Council in recent years. And at tomorrow’s elections, where 33 seats are up for grabs, there will be a number of candidates either not aligned to any political party, or acting as sole candidate for their party in the district. And some standing independent Councillors are hoping to retain their seats. Running as a candidate for one of the major political parties is the route most prospective Councillors follow, and it gives candidates the support and resources of a national organisation.
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A DISTRICT councillor has slammed Bradford Council’s “raid on Addingham’s green belt”. The Council is currently consulting on its Local Plan which has identified six sites in Addingham for the building of 175 new homes. Five of the sites are in the green belt. In its Neighbourhood Plan Addingham had set out a policy of small “in fill” housing sites to fit in with the character of the village rather than having large housing estates and invading the green belt. Councillor Adrian Naylor (Ind, Craven) said: “Bradford are currently consulting on these new proposals for housing numbers up to 2038. I would encourage everyone to have a look at Bradford’s website and make whatever comments you wish in the short time available at https://www.bradford.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy/emerging-local-plan/l. The consultation timescale is a very short one and closes on March 24.
A petition signed by more than 1,800 people went before an online meeting of Bradford Council. It was presented by Jane Lee, who chairs the Friends of Keighley’s Carnegie Library. She said the North Street building was the first public Carnegie library and was a vital part of the town centre. “A full, transparent, public and wide-ranging study should be carried out to establish a secure financial future for our library in Keighley and all the other libraries in the Bradford district,” she said. There was criticism at the meeting of the £420,000 Bradford Council pays each year to rent space for City Library.
And one Councillor called for Council bosses to hold an urgent review of the facility s costs. The eye watering rent costs that the Council pays for the City Park library emerged last year during a debate on a planned shake up of the library service. The city centre library moved into the unit, overlooking the mirror pool, in 2013. It was previously based in what is now Margaret Macmillan Tower, but that building was condemned as a fire risk in 2011 and was dealt a further blow in 2013 when asbestos was found throughout the building. The old library has since been refurbished and is home to the Council s Children s Services department.