Labour MPs blast thier own Council

The South Wales Echo reports that Cardiff West MP and his AM colleague  Mark Drakeford have blasted their own Partys running of Cardiff Council

According to the Echo......

"The two  attacked, City's quality of life 'under threat' from plans for 45,000 new homes, and warn the city’s quality of life is under threat from the proposals to build 45,500 properties, and they describe Cardiff council’s Local Development Plan (LDP) Preferred Strategy as “flawed” in a seven-page letter.
The LDP has been opposed by opposition parties, but this latest criticism is significant as it is the first time Labour politicians have spoken out against plans put forward by the Labour-run council.
They say Cardiff will “quickly lose its appeal as a good place to live” if high levels of traffic congestion are a regular experience for residents.
“Nor will high density, indistinctive housing, poorly served by basic amenities, do anything to sustain Cardiff’s appeal as a place to live in the future,” the pair wrote.
“The current strategy puts at risk precisely the qualities which have made Cardiff a success.
“It radically undervalues those components which contribute to quality of life, on which, in turn, economic attractiveness in the future will depend. Indeed, the strategy threatens to undermine the very conditions which it hopes to create.”

South Wales Echo 31 December  2012

It continues

The strategy, agreed by Labour councillors in October, proposes 18,250 of the homes be built on undeveloped greenfield sites on the city’s northern and western fringes.
Within Mr Brennan and Mr Drakeford’s constituency, this includes 7,500 homes on fields between Pentrebane and St Fagans and 2,750 homes on land south of Creigiau.
They say Cardiff needs an LDP and more housing, but construction must first take place on brownfield sites – those areas with previous industrial or commercial use in need of regeneration.
“Only when every possibility for brownfield site development has been exhausted should, we believe, attention shift to greenfield areas,” the pair write.
“In that sense, the consultation document appears to take the wrong approach, in appearing to put greenfield sites at the heart of the debate.
“Our conclusions are two-fold: The strategy seriously overestimates the number of houses which can and should be built on greenfield sites in the city; and where greenfield building is required, the strategy fails to provide a convincing case for the sites it has so identified.”

South Wales Echo 31 December  2012

It is refreshing  to see Labour MPs  taking  a stand against their own council . Though a cynic might  think that thousands of Non Labour voters moving into their constituency may be their greatest  concern..

Whether the split in Labour spreads to Labpur Councillor in Cardiff West remains to be seen .Creigau is not a Labour stronghold . So they personally may not be threatened.

Still  just over six months  over Labours spectacular capture of Cardiff Council last may it looks like cracks are appearing in the new administration and  Cardiff Labour may well be hoping that there are  no by-elections in the city in 2013.