Letters to the Editor

SIR, - Having followed reports in your paper and others about the boundary changes in Aireborough and Otley areas, I believe that we have been dealt a great injustice by the leaders of Leeds City Council and the Boundary Committee.

The Electoral Commission publish guidelines as follows: 'The BCF also takes into account local circumstances, including the need to secure local government, to reflect the identities and interests of local communities, and achieve easily identifiable electoral boundaries'.

Having read the final recommendations of the Boundary Committee it is quite clear for anyone to see that these guidelines have not been followed

The obvious natural boundary as we all know is Otley Chevin dividing Otley in Wharfedale from Aireborough in Airedale. Two independent communities in their own right, and if recent media coverage is anything to go by Aireborough is the most average place in Britain.

Sorry Otley, it seems your claim to fame is the Chevin, a river that floods, a hospital, and being a market town in need of additional funding under the Market Towns Initiative; very different from your neighbours in Aireborough.

Owen Peel in his letter last week was quite right to highlight the differences between the two communities. I am sure many readers will agree with all the arguments being put forward in both Aireborough and Wharfedale as to why Otley and the top part of Yeadon should not be forced together in this bureaucratic farce.

Both areas need councillors with knowledge of their respective areas and issues particular to that community living and working in that area. This can only be achieved by having local councillors, and not expecting those in Otley to know the concerns of residents around Yeadon Tarn, Rufford, Henshaw, Coppice wood, Shaw Lane and Yeadon Town Centre. Areas which I am sure they have little knowledge of.

However ask them about Otley, Pool, Arthington and Bramhope and much to their credit they will know the answers, together with most residents' views.

What of the people who put forward this scheme; does Councillor Neil Taggert the Lord Mayor of Leeds, or Councillor Keith Wakefield the Leader of Leeds City Council know anything of the area and the concerns of local people? Will they be present at the public meeting being held at ten o'clock in Yeadon Town Hall this Saturday to answer residents questions and attempt to justify this local community carve up?

We are at the end of a four stage process and have until September 9 to send in written comments to the Secretary of The Electoral Commission, Trevelyan House, 30 Great Peter Street, London SW1P 2HW.

The Electoral Guidelines say this about the consultation process,

'The BCFE will advertise in the local press the fact that it is publishing its final recommendations report. Copies of the report will be sent to all consultees and, again subject to the number of respondents, those who made representations during stage three. As before Local Authorities will be asked to place copies of the final recommendation report on deposit for public inspection, and copies will be available in local libraries and from BCFE'.

Have any of the local papers in and around Leeds been asked by Leeds City Council or the BCFE to publicise the review and consultation?

I have not seen any such notices, neither have I seen in the local libraries the information made available for the public as it should have been.

Thanks to Councillor Makhan Thakur for organising the public meeting in Yeadon Town Hall this Saturday, as undoubtedly this will be for many, not only the last, but the only chance they have had in contributing to what should have been a public consultation.

John Sharples

53 Hawthorn Road,

Yeadon.

NIMBY blow

SIR, - Leeds City Council planning department strikes again. By rejecting a planning application to build much needed multi-use sports changing rooms in Pool they have shown their true colours.

A tiny minority has objected to the proposed sports development project, a project that would have had a lasting legacy for the VILLAGE. A project that has the backing of the majority of VILLAGE residents. Leeds City Council, via the planning department, has gone against the wishes of the majority in Pool.

Who are the elected representatives on the local and city councils representing? The house builders whose plans are rubber-stamped no matter the groundswell of feeling in the VILLAGE? Or the people of Pool who elected them to office?

Or perhaps the planners feel that a tiny minority should have their selfish way. If these NIMBY's feel like that they should never have bought homes near to a sports ground, but then a game of cricket looks so picturesque viewed from the garden or balcony.

The fact that a number of the houses next to the cricket ground have already changed hands several times seems not to worry the planners when looking at the objections. In the main these objectors are not interested in the VILLAGE.i

In fact, how many of them will

still be living in Pool in three years' time. Both Pool football club and cricket club have worked very hard to provide facilities for local youngsters, from five years upwards,. Coaching is provided by selfless individuals, fund raising is undertaken and countless other tasks completed to enable the sports facilities to be enjoyed by all. Yes, all.

The strength of feeling in the VILLAGE is such that a petition was immediately organised and already contains several hundred names; the majority in the VILLAGE want this project to succeed.

These objectors have no commitment to the VILLAGE of Pool; the sporting sections have, and will continue to do so long after the Nimbys have departed.

Steve Mitchell

Secretary,

Pool Cricket Club

Overwhelmed

SIR, - I was delighted and overwhelmed to see so many people at the Rawdon Crematorium saying farewell to my brother, Keith Wilkinson.

I always knew he was a popular lad because when I went shopping with him it always took twice as long because of all the people who came to talk to us.

I met up with people at the crematorium I hadn't seen for many years. I think they call that a 'blast from the past'. It was really wonderful.

There are far more people than I can mention. He always had a smile and that was because of the people of Otley who greeted him with a smile. Thank you to each and every one of you. Donations given at the service amounted to £215 for the British Heart Foundation.

Maureen Simpson.

10 Corve Way,

Chesterfield.

Road relief

SIR, - At long last I am delighted to hear that Leeds City Council has issued a statement to reveal that it has found enough money to revive all worn out road surfaces including those in Aireborough.

After a long bargaining meeting between the three councillors of Aireborough and Paul Markham, head of highways services, on July 11, we were assured that financial planning would be made to treat these road surfaces collectively rather than looking at an individual problem.

The suggested sum of £14.3 million to be spent on the highways is very welcome news. As a councillor, I have been in receipt of hundreds of letters from the local community expressing their concerns at the condition of our roads.

The Executive Board was due to meet yesterday. I hope they will vote in favour of the scheme and look forward to the work commencing in our area.

Coun Dr Makhan Thakur

Majetta Farm,

Mall Lane,

West Carlton.

Time for rethink

SIR, - So, the vandals and fireraisers have completed their task and to what effect? The dominant tannery in Gay Lane lies in a heap after years of neglect.

What an opportunity to reconsider the restricted proposals of Sainsbury's. There is a new chance for planners, councillors and the developer to adjust the approved layout and fortuitously correct the glaring mistakes before it is too late. Residents and users of Station Road cannot welcome the prospect of supermarket juggernauts attempting to deliver off a street designed for the horse and cart era.

There are no sight lines nor explanation from planners or councillors how they expect visiting delivery drivers to negotiate the hazards. Whatever the cost, the opportunity to alter this proposal should be immediately considered.

Then there's Bondgate; choked and congested for long periods now! But 5,000 new entry and exit vehicles per day will soon be added, each attempting to enter or leave the new Sainsbury's car park. Is there not time for a re-appraisal?

Now the whole development site is virtually empty, or are we to live with a new continually stagnated part of Otley.

Peter Kelley

Bondgate Pottery,

Bondgate,

Otley.

Lunchtime bias?

SIR, - Due to the Parliamentary recess, the lunchtime politics programme on TV has been replaced.

Will the BBC be accused of political bias now that Blair and Prescott have been replaced by Laurel and Hardy?

C M Harper

Banksfield Avenue,

Yeadon.

SIR, - Having followed reports in your paper and others about the boundary changes in Aireborough and Otley areas, I believe that we have been dealt a great injustice by the leaders of Leeds City Council and the Boundary Committee.

The Electoral Commission publish guidelines as follows: 'The BCF also takes into account local circumstances, including the need to secure local government, to reflect the identities and interests of local communities, and achieve easily identifiable electoral boundaries'.

Having read the final recommendations of the Boundary Committee it is quite clear for anyone to see that these guidelines have not been followed

The obvious natural boundary as we all know is Otley Chevin dividing Otley in Wharfedale from Aireborough in Airedale. Two independent communities in their own right, and if recent media coverage is anything to go by Aireborough is the most average place in Britain.

Sorry Otley, it seems your claim to fame is the Chevin, a river that floods, a hospital, and being a market town in need of additional funding under the Market Towns Initiative; very different from your neighbours in Aireborough.

Owen Peel in his letter last week was quite right to highlight the differences between the two communities. I am sure many readers will agree with all the arguments being put forward in both Aireborough and Wharfedale as to why Otley and the top part of Yeadon should not be forced together in this bureaucratic farce.

Both areas need councillors with knowledge of their respective areas and issues particular to that community living and working in that area. This can only be achieved by having local councillors, and not expecting those in Otley to know the concerns of residents around Yeadon Tarn, Rufford, Henshaw, Coppice wood, Shaw Lane and Yeadon Town Centre. Areas which I am sure they have little knowledge of.

However ask them about Otley, Pool, Arthington and Bramhope and much to their credit they will know the answers, together with most residents' views.

What of the people who put forward this scheme; does Councillor Neil Taggert the Lord Mayor of Leeds, or Councillor Keith Wakefield the Leader of Leeds City Council know anything of the area and the concerns of local people? Will they be present at the public meeting being held at ten o'clock in Yeadon Town Hall this Saturday to answer residents questions and attempt to justify this local community carve up?

We are at the end of a four stage process and have until September 9 to send in written comments to the Secretary of The Electoral Commission, Trevelyan House, 30 Great Peter Street, London SW1P 2HW.

The Electoral Guidelines say this about the consultation process,

'The BCFE will advertise in the local press the fact that it is publishing its final recommendations report. Copies of the report will be sent to all consultees and, again subject to the number of respondents, those who made representations during stage three. As before Local Authorities will be asked to place copies of the final recommendation report on deposit for public inspection, and copies will be available in local libraries and from BCFE'.

Have any of the local papers in and around Leeds been asked by Leeds City Council or the BCFE to publicise the review and consultation?

I have not seen any such notices, neither have I seen in the local libraries the information made available for the public as it should have been.

Thanks to Councillor Makhan Thakur for organising the public meeting in Yeadon Town Hall this Saturday, as undoubtedly this will be for many, not only the last, but the only chance they have had in contributing to what should have been a public consultation.

John Sharples

53 Hawthorn Road,

Yeadon.

NIMBY blow

SIR, - Leeds City Council planning department strikes again. By rejecting a planning application to build much needed multi-use sports changing rooms in Pool they have shown their true colours.

A tiny minority has objected to the proposed sports development project, a project that would have had a lasting legacy for the VILLAGE. A project that has the backing of the majority of VILLAGE residents. Leeds City Council, via the planning department, has gone against the wishes of the majority in Pool.

Who are the elected representatives on the local and city councils representing? The house builders whose plans are rubber-stamped no matter the groundswell of feeling in the VILLAGE? Or the people of Pool who elected them to office?

Or perhaps the planners feel that a tiny minority should have their selfish way. If these NIMBY's feel like that they should never have bought homes near to a sports ground, but then a game of cricket looks so picturesque viewed from the garden or balcony.

The fact that a number of the houses next to the cricket ground have already changed hands several times seems not to worry the planners when looking at the objections. In the main these objectors are not interested in the VILLAGE.i

In fact, how many of them will

still be living in Pool in three years' time. Both Pool football club and cricket club have worked very hard to provide facilities for local youngsters, from five years upwards,. Coaching is provided by selfless individuals, fund raising is undertaken and countless other tasks completed to enable the sports facilities to be enjoyed by all. Yes, all.

The strength of feeling in the VILLAGE is such that a petition was immediately organised and already contains several hundred names; the majority in the VILLAGE want this project to succeed.

These objectors have no commitment to the VILLAGE of Pool; the sporting sections have, and will continue to do so long after the Nimbys have departed.

Steve Mitchell

Secretary,

Pool Cricket Club

Overwhelmed

SIR, - I was delighted and overwhelmed to see so many people at the Rawdon Crematorium saying farewell to my brother, Keith Wilkinson.

I always knew he was a popular lad because when I went shopping with him it always took twice as long because of all the people who came to talk to us.

I met up with people at the crematorium I hadn't seen for many years. I think they call that a 'blast from the past'. It was really wonderful.

There are far more people than I can mention. He always had a smile and that was because of the people of Otley who greeted him with a smile. Thank you to each and every one of you. Donations given at the service amounted to £215 for the British Heart Foundation.

Maureen Simpson.

10 Corve Way,

Chesterfield.

Road relief

SIR, - At long last I am delighted to hear that Leeds City Council has issued a statement to reveal that it has found enough money to revive all worn out road surfaces including those in Aireborough.

After a long bargaining meeting between the three councillors of Aireborough and Paul Markham, head of highways services, on July 11, we were assured that financial planning would be made to treat these road surfaces collectively rather than looking at an individual problem.

The suggested sum of £14.3 million to be spent on the highways is very welcome news. As a councillor, I have been in receipt of hundreds of letters from the local community expressing their concerns at the condition of our roads.

The Executive Board was due to meet yesterday. I hope they will vote in favour of the scheme and look forward to the work commencing in our area.

Coun Dr Makhan Thakur

Majetta Farm,

Mall Lane,

West Carlton.

Time for rethink

SIR, - So, the vandals and fireraisers have completed their task and to what effect? The dominant tannery in Gay Lane lies in a heap after years of neglect.

What an opportunity to reconsider the restricted proposals of Sainsbury's. There is a new chance for planners, councillors and the developer to adjust the approved layout and fortuitously correct the glaring mistakes before it is too late. Residents and users of Station Road cannot welcome the prospect of supermarket juggernauts attempting to deliver off a street designed for the horse and cart era.

There are no sight lines nor explanation from planners or councillors how they expect visiting delivery drivers to negotiate the hazards. Whatever the cost, the opportunity to alter this proposal should be immediately considered.

Then there's Bondgate; choked and congested for long periods now! But 5,000 new entry and exit vehicles per day will soon be added, each attempting to enter or leave the new Sainsbury's car park. Is there not time for a re-appraisal?

Now the whole development site is virtually empty, or are we to live with a new continually stagnated part of Otley.

Peter Kelley

Bondgate Pottery,

Bondgate,

Otley.

Lunchtime bias?

SIR, - Due to the Parliamentary recess, the lunchtime politics programme on TV has been replaced.

Will the BBC be accused of political bias now that Blair and Prescott have been replaced by Laurel and Hardy?

C M Harper

Banksfield Avenue,

Yeadon.

SIR, - Having followed reports in your paper and others about the boundary changes in Aireborough and Otley areas, I believe that we have been dealt a great injustice by the leaders of Leeds City Council and the Boundary Committee.

The Electoral Commission publish guidelines as follows: 'The BCF also takes into account local circumstances, including the need to secure local government, to reflect the identities and interests of local communities, and achieve easily identifiable electoral boundaries'.

Having read the final recommendations of the Boundary Committee it is quite clear for anyone to see that these guidelines have not been followed

The obvious natural boundary as we all know is Otley Chevin dividing Otley in Wharfedale from Aireborough in Airedale. Two independent communities in their own right, and if recent media coverage is anything to go by Aireborough is the most average place in Britain.

Sorry Otley, it seems your claim to fame is the Chevin, a river that floods, a hospital, and being a market town in need of additional funding under the Market Towns Initiative; very different from your neighbours in Aireborough.

Owen Peel in his letter last week was quite right to highlight the differences between the two communities. I am sure many readers will agree with all the arguments being put forward in both Aireborough and Wharfedale as to why Otley and the top part of Yeadon should not be forced together in this bureaucratic farce.

Both areas need councillors with knowledge of their respective areas and issues particular to that community living and working in that area. This can only be achieved by having local councillors, and not expecting those in Otley to know the concerns of residents around Yeadon Tarn, Rufford, Henshaw, Coppice wood, Shaw Lane and Yeadon Town Centre. Areas which I am sure they have little knowledge of.

However ask them about Otley, Pool, Arthington and Bramhope and much to their credit they will know the answers, together with most residents' views.

What of the people who put forward this scheme; does Councillor Neil Taggert the Lord Mayor of Leeds, or Councillor Keith Wakefield the Leader of Leeds City Council know anything of the area and the concerns of local people? Will they be present at the public meeting being held at ten o'clock in Yeadon Town Hall this Saturday to answer residents questions and attempt to justify this local community carve up?

We are at the end of a four stage process and have until September 9 to send in written comments to the Secretary of The Electoral Commission, Trevelyan House, 30 Great Peter Street, London SW1P 2HW.

The Electoral Guidelines say this about the consultation process,

'The BCFE will advertise in the local press the fact that it is publishing its final recommendations report. Copies of the report will be sent to all consultees and, again subject to the number of respondents, those who made representations during stage three. As before Local Authorities will be asked to place copies of the final recommendation report on deposit for public inspection, and copies will be available in local libraries and from BCFE'.

Have any of the local papers in and around Leeds been asked by Leeds City Council or the BCFE to publicise the review and consultation?

I have not seen any such notices, neither have I seen in the local libraries the information made available for the public as it should have been.

Thanks to Councillor Makhan Thakur for organising the public meeting in Yeadon Town Hall this Saturday, as undoubtedly this will be for many, not only the last, but the only chance they have had in contributing to what should have been a public consultation.

John Sharples

53 Hawthorn Road,

Yeadon.

NIMBY blow

SIR, - Leeds City Council planning department strikes again. By rejecting a planning application to build much needed multi-use sports changing rooms in Pool they have shown their true colours.

A tiny minority has objected to the proposed sports development project, a project that would have had a lasting legacy for the VILLAGE. A project that has the backing of the majority of VILLAGE residents. Leeds City Council, via the planning department, has gone against the wishes of the majority in Pool.

Who are the elected representatives on the local and city councils representing? The house builders whose plans are rubber-stamped no matter the groundswell of feeling in the VILLAGE? Or the people of Pool who elected them to office?

Or perhaps the planners feel that a tiny minority should have their selfish way. If these NIMBY's feel like that they should never have bought homes near to a sports ground, but then a game of cricket looks so picturesque viewed from the garden or balcony.

The fact that a number of the houses next to the cricket ground have already changed hands several times seems not to worry the planners when looking at the objections. In the main these objectors are not interested in the VILLAGE.i

In fact, how many of them will

still be living in Pool in three years' time. Both Pool football club and cricket club have worked very hard to provide facilities for local youngsters, from five years upwards,. Coaching is provided by selfless individuals, fund raising is undertaken and countless other tasks completed to enable the sports facilities to be enjoyed by all. Yes, all.

The strength of feeling in the VILLAGE is such that a petition was immediately organised and already contains several hundred names; the majority in the VILLAGE want this project to succeed.

These objectors have no commitment to the VILLAGE of Pool; the sporting sections have, and will continue to do so long after the Nimbys have departed.

Steve Mitchell

Secretary,

Pool Cricket Club

Overwhelmed

SIR, - I was delighted and overwhelmed to see so many people at the Rawdon Crematorium saying farewell to my brother, Keith Wilkinson.

I always knew he was a popular lad because when I went shopping with him it always took twice as long because of all the people who came to talk to us.

I met up with people at the crematorium I hadn't seen for many years. I think they call that a 'blast from the past'. It was really wonderful.

There are far more people than I can mention. He always had a smile and that was because of the people of Otley who greeted him with a smile. Thank you to each and every one of you. Donations given at the service amounted to £215 for the British Heart Foundation.

Maureen Simpson.

10 Corve Way,

Chesterfield.

Road relief

SIR, - At long last I am delighted to hear that Leeds City Council has issued a statement to reveal that it has found enough money to revive all worn out road surfaces including those in Aireborough.

After a long bargaining meeting between the three councillors of Aireborough and Paul Markham, head of highways services, on July 11, we were assured that financial planning would be made to treat these road surfaces collectively rather than looking at an individual problem.

The suggested sum of £14.3 million to be spent on the highways is very welcome news. As a councillor, I have been in receipt of hundreds of letters from the local community expressing their concerns at the condition of our roads.

The Executive Board was due to meet yesterday. I hope they will vote in favour of the scheme and look forward to the work commencing in our area.

Coun Dr Makhan Thakur

Majetta Farm,

Mall Lane,

West Carlton.

Time for rethink

SIR, - So, the vandals and fireraisers have completed their task and to what effect? The dominant tannery in Gay Lane lies in a heap after years of neglect.

What an opportunity to reconsider the restricted proposals of Sainsbury's. There is a new chance for planners, councillors and the developer to adjust the approved layout and fortuitously correct the glaring mistakes before it is too late. Residents and users of Station Road cannot welcome the prospect of supermarket juggernauts attempting to deliver off a street designed for the horse and cart era.

There are no sight lines nor explanation from planners or councillors how they expect visiting delivery drivers to negotiate the hazards. Whatever the cost, the opportunity to alter this proposal should be immediately considered.

Then there's Bondgate; choked and congested for long periods now! But 5,000 new entry and exit vehicles per day will soon be added, each attempting to enter or leave the new Sainsbury's car park. Is there not time for a re-appraisal?

Now the whole development site is virtually empty, or are we to live with a new continually stagnated part of Otley.

Peter Kelley

Bondgate Pottery,

Bondgate,

Otley.

Lunchtime bias?

SIR, - Due to the Parliamentary recess, the lunchtime politics programme on TV has been replaced.

Will the BBC be accused of political bias now that Blair and Prescott have been replaced by Laurel and Hardy?

C M Harper

Banksfield Avenue,

Yeadon.

Case of stolen identity

SIR, May I reply to the letter by Mr Rick Lamb published in The Wharfedale (August 28). Yes, as a member of Yeadon Town Hall Users Group, I am very concerned about the future of Yeadon Town Hall, which is held in trust for the people of Yeadon by Leeds City Council.

It is only 17 years ago that Leeds City Council wanted to dispose of the town hall, but the same group soon told Leeds Council it was not theirs to sell. More recently, the users group and friends ensured that the town hall was refurbished following a fire hazard incident involving old electrical wiring.

You know the old saying, Mr Lamb - give some people an inch and they will take a yard. Were we informed about what was going to happen to other buildings since we were taken over by Leeds. Nunroyd House was a gift to the people of Yeadon by Annie Peate; the property is now leased to a brewery by Leeds City Council.

Crowtrees House - a gift to the people of Rawdon - a home for the elderly now sold by the same council and is now flats. Aireborough Grammar School - demolished to make way for houses.

The name of Aireborough is to be erased from the map proposed by Leeds City Council. They are taking away our identity and heritage. We want Aireborough to stay. The guidance notes issued by the Boundary Committee has been totally ignored as far as Aireborough is concerned, so of course some people worry. The community must not be dictated to, they have a choice.

W Brown (Mrs)

Pendragon Terrace

Guiseley.