What I'm working on.
The bigger issues I am pushing on for Batley East, what I have actually done about each one, and where things stand. Individual cases are in the casework log. This page is for the issues that affect whole streets, schools and the town.
Last updated 29 October 2026Safer streets around our schools.
Park and stride for Park Road School
RunningCars parking on pavements and blocking the road at drop off and pick up, putting children at risk.
Got permission from Tesco Batley for parents to use its car park for morning drop off and afternoon pick up. Teachers and volunteers walk the children between the car park and the school.
Parents have a safe place to stop, and fewer cars on the pavements outside the school.
Park and stride for Upper Batley High School
RunningDangerous and inconsiderate parking outside Upper Batley High School at the start and end of the school day.
Arranged a park and stride scheme with Aldi, so parents can drop off and collect from the Aldi car park. Spent three days outside the school with the headteacher, Mr Kang, handing out letters and speaking to parents who had parked. Arranged random parking enforcement visits.
Met residents who live around the school, together with Mr Kang and the local police team, to talk through the parking problems they face every school day.
More parking enforcement around schools
In progressMore civil enforcement officers, making regular unannounced visits to schools at drop off and pick up.
Working with Cabinet members to make the case for hiring more enforcement officers.
Ask Your Councillor
OngoingVisiting local schools, talking to children about what a councillor does, and leaving Ask Your Councillor cards so they can send me their questions and ideas.
Questions and feedback from pupils are already coming in.
Tackling fly tipping.
Tackling fly tipping
OngoingFly tipping hotspots across Batley East, some of them blighting streets for years.
Logged and chased every fly tipping report until it was cleared, and pushed for long standing hotspots to be dealt with at the source, including the removal of a clothing bank that had become a dumping point.
Long standing hotspots have been cleared. Every report is tracked on my casework log.
Report fly tipping straight to Kirklees Council with a photo and exact location, then send me the reference number if it is not cleared.
Health services and facilities local people rely on.
Save Dewsbury Sports Centre
OngoingDewsbury Sports Centre and its swimming pool closed after Kirklees Council decided in December 2023 that it could not afford to keep the centre open, citing maintenance and running costs and the discovery of RAAC concrete.
A pool back for Dewsbury and Batley. Swimming is a life skill, and families should not have to travel out of the area for lessons.
Joined local residents in the Save Our Pools campaign.
Dewsbury and District Hospital
OngoingDewsbury and District Hospital serves Batley East and North Kirklees. As Chair of the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Panel, I hold local health services to account.
Joined the celebrations for the hospital's 150th birthday and backed the My Hospitals Charity Dewsbury 150 appeal.
A town centre that works for the people who use it.
Field Lane car park
Waiting for a decisionMake Field Lane car park free again for business owners and people who work in Batley town centre.
Formally asked the Cabinet and the Chief Executive to consider reversing the change.
Town centre safety and policing
OngoingMore visible policing in Batley East and the town centre.
Regular contact with Safer Kirklees and the local PCSO team. Met Superintendent Jim Griffiths, visited the new police station and asked for more visible policing in our area.
Batley Blueprint
Waiting for answersClear answers on how much has been spent on consultants, and when residents will get a proper public update on the regeneration plans.
Pressing senior officers for answers and raising concerns publicly about the risk of Batley getting a watered down plan.
Getting the big transport decisions right.
Bradford Road cycle lane
Under scrutinyThe Bradford Road cycle lane, part of the Dewsbury to Batley to Chidswell Sustainable Travel Corridor.
The formal objection window has closed, so I am pursuing questions about how the decision was made through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and the Council's Cabinet.
Standing up for every community in Batley East.
Speaking out against racism
OngoingA Kirklees councillor posted on social media describing immigrants as ‘third world animals’, and a fellow councillor defended the post.
Spoke out publicly against the post and against the defence of it. Language like this has no place in public life, and it does real harm to residents in Batley East.
Is there an issue I should be pushing on?
If something affects your whole street, your school or the town, tell me. Come to my surgery on the last Thursday of every month at Batley Library, 11am to 1pm, or get in touch any time.