SIR - I was recently shown a picture related to the apparent granting of planning permission for the disused Prospect of Bradford pub on Bolton Road.

I have several concerns and objections to this. I walk past this building several times a week and can verify that no statutory notice has been visible.

In the past, local residents were consulted about planning applications in their area. Although I have registered for every possible e-mail alert from Bradford Council, I have seen nothing about this proposal. Perhaps there is a repetition of the sharp practice in 2012, when the meadow farther north along Bolton Road was lost to new housing - and only the residents immediately opposite the site knew anything before the bulldozers moved in and the trees were cut down. Why are we no longer informed when such developments are proposed?

The plan is apparently, to build a block of 48 apartments on the site. This would be way larger than the existing building and have a seriously detrimental effect on the site. Bolton Road is one of the few that provides views across the city. Even the Victorians understood the value of views and open space.

The proposed building shown would block not only the view across to Thornton and the open country beyond but also the sunlight. The health benefits of Vitamin D (from sunlight) are well know, so another development that puts people in the shade is a backward step.

There is also the issue of additional vehicles (48 if every apartment-owner has one), joining Bolton Road at its junction with Wapping Road. This is would add to congestion and air pollution.

The area bounded by Bolton Road, Shipley Airedale Road and Kings/Queens Roads is the last pocket of natural environment in central Bradford. Until the 2012 development, there were resident kestrels, pheasants and owls living in the area. They have all gone now. If you visit the site at this time of year, you can see and hear for yourself the amount of wildlife that lives in the area. Putting a large apartment block on the site will do serious ecological damage and reduce biodiversity even further.

If someone is desperate to build an apartment block, the ideal site is just a couple of hundred metres along Wapping Road - the old Wapping First School. This has been derelict for well over 20 years. The road is significantly less busy than Bolton Road, and wider, so additional vehicles could be absorbed there safely and with less impact.

I really hope that one of the last bits of natural environment can be protected from yet more "development".

Chris Johnson, Exmouth Place, Bradford