Letters to the Editor

I complained to the Council and was told that as the bags were not in a bin the refuse collectors were not obliged to remove them. I was told I could request a street cleaner and a vehicle to collect the bags.

So, rather than one man removing two bags when he was there anyway, we now needed an additional vehicle AND a sweeper. A waste of resources? I think so.

The street cleaner was booked to arrive within five days but it took ten. By then, the rubbish was miles away thanks to the wind.

Now Bradford Council is supporting a clean-up? Don't make me laugh! They make more mess than the rest us put together just emptying the refuse we have to wheel into the street for them.

And we pay for the privilege of being told that we should clean up the street.

Dave Pask, Cross Street, Bradford

SIR - I live in the ward represented by the Lord Mayor, Councillor Allan Hillary and I was most interested to read abut his backing for the war on litter (T&A, October 21).

Could he tell me why we have lost the person who used to pick up litter in the Kings Road area and why we had to phone five times in one week to get the overflowing rubbish bins emptied in Claremont Playing fields?

In Wrose and district there is a lack of bins for people out walking. Perhaps if the Council gave the district more resources it would help the appearance of the area.

Teachers in Bradford schools could help by teaching their pupils to bin rubbish instead of throwing it on the verges and pavements.

Michael Breen, Bolton Hall Road, Wrose.

SIR - I can understand the need to dig up our roads now and again but who is responsible for co-ordination?

As mentioned in previous letters it seems all roads to Bradford from Queensbury and Clayton have been attacked at once, including road closures in Lidget Green.

Specifically, who authorises the placing of temporary traffic lights and their effect on traffic flow? Do they realise that traffic flows into Bradford in the mornings and OUT of Bradford in the evening?

At 7pm last Wednesday there was a queue of three cars travelling from Queensbury and 63 the other way. Why not bias the lights - or would that mean somebody actually cares?

Stuart Atkin, Cheriton Drive, Queensbury

A Bradford Council spokesman said: "Yorkshire Water and TRANSCO are both doing essential work between Clayton Heights and the city centre and had informed us of this as they are required to do. Yorkshire Water's mains cleaning work between Spencer Road and Legrams Lane is part of a massive investment in Bradford where they are spending £100 million over five years to improve the district's water supply. The Spencer Road work is mainly being done during half-term week to minimise disruption but began last Wednesday, as it will take a little longer than a week. "TRANSCO did not tell us beforehand that they needed to install temporary traffic lights while they put in replacement gas mains at Highgate Road, Clayton Heights, which is expected to take until around November 24.

"We have received complaints about delays there and have asked TRANSCO to ensure these lights are manned at peak periods and phased to give priority to inbound traffic in the morning and outbound traffic in the evenings. We have written to them to complain about how this work has been managed.

"We appreciate motorists' concerns but when work has to be done for safety reasons it has to be done without delay. Unfortunately this sometimes clashes with other planned work."

SIR - My faith in this Government's commitment to improving health and safety at work has been shaken on discovering just how little funding is in place now - and reducing in future years - to support this vital function.

The real-terms drop in funding will result in qualified, front-line inspectors being cut back at a time when work places can expect to be inspected by the Health and Safety Executive only once every ten years - if at all.

The HSE's present funding is £35 million short of actual requirements though £35m is small compared to the cost of accidents - £1.8 billion.

The need for fair funding should be firmly fixed on both national and local political agendas. With proper funding, pain and suffering and injury to workers could reduce and this would save our economy money by reducing NHS costs and absence from work. A modest increase in HSE funding could save the UK a significant amount of money in the long term.

D M Coates, Wickets Close, Odsal.

SIR - Surely a solution to the ever-increasing use of drugs is to stop the flow. Rather than putting more and more police officers into drug enforcement would it not be a simpler solution to spend more time at our ports and airports to stop the initial entry?

Maybe this seems too simple but, as most of the base substances are sourced in warmer climates, surely they have to enter through one of the ports.

Philip Hartley, Tunwell Lane, Eccleshill.

SIR - The only saving grace of the futuristic nonsensical plans for Bradford city centre is the demolition of concrete buildings. As for the rest, the huge lake will provide an invaluable target for floating syringes and burning cars.

The Council needs to attend to the social and moral fabric of the city before anything else. Spend on zero tolerance; drive out the drug dealers; clean the streets and keep them clean - it's good to see the latest litter initiative.

Put someone in the planning department who knows about Bradford's architectural heritage and what classic buildings are. Two more blights are on their way. Surely, for £10 million, we could build the new police station with quality stone features instead of a boring square that will look a dirty, streaky eyesore within three years.

And yet another eyesore is planned right in the middle of listed buildings in Great Horton (T&A, October 23). Of course we need that student accommodation but, for God's sake, build it from stone and let it blend in.

Come election time I believe the councillors and MPs who campaign on zero tolerance and the return of the noble city will romp home.

Ian Wilkinson, Green End Road, East Morton

SIR - I came here to study Peace Studies, as only Bradford offered it in 1979. My daughter and I loved the old markets, the beauty of the Wool Exchange, the mix of almost Dickensian atmosphere and exotic Asia that was Bradford: turrets, gargoyles, and silks and jewelled sandals; friendship from people whose culture we had not met before.

There are cities that thrive on mass-produced shopping malls, so I hear. There are cities that, by their nature, thrive on water features. Bradford is not Amsterdam or Venice, but a city all its own that too many highly-priced "visionaries" seem determined to drown, rather than to discover.

Chris Mackay, Withins Close, Bradford

SIR - It seems strange to me that the police can set up two centres in Kashmir, pay for two officers to swan out there and set up video conferences etc (T&A, October 20). But here I never see any police on the beat.

It seems to me the priorities should be here, not in foreign places.

B Russell, Heaton Crescent, Baildon.

SIR - It is so good to see that a number of Bradford head teachers are taking a fact-finding trip to Barbados (T&A, October 23). Please keep us informed of similar fact-finders when they go to visit Afghanistan or Iraq. I am sure the head teachers in question have pupils from both of those countries who need similar understanding.

J S Mathers, Lynton Drive, Shipley

SIR - Considering the charges relating to the conduct of the former Labour MP George Galloway, one is struck with the thought that if the alleged offences are not technically treason, then what is?

Given that treason is still a capital offence, Mr Galloway should feel fortunate that he lives in an enlightened age and certainly not in one of the disgusting regimes he has supported for years.

He would have lost more than his party card long ago in such circumstances.

Mark Ashdown, Ling Park Avenue, Wilsden