Letters to the editor

SIR - At last someone appears to understand the problems of Bradford. Alec Suchi (January 13) makes the case yet again for a heavy rail link between the two stations, Forster Square and the Interchange.

The Bingley relief road, or Leslie's Folly as it is know by locals, will do nothing to relieve congestion, only move it further down the valley. The answer has to be rail.

We have to improve rail access to Bradford. This is surely a major reason we did not even get short-listed as a Capital of Culture. We have to improve the infrastructure, particularly rail access to the city.

Getting into Bradford can be a nightmare. Ask anyone who has frozen on Leeds Station waiting for a connecting train. Building the rail link will change Bradford from a dead-end city, end of the line, into an accessible city that people will want to come to.

As Mr Suchi points out, it is time Bradford Council and Metro campaigned for such vital improvements rather than accepting a sub-standard rail service for Bradford.

Dr Chris Butler, Dallam Avenue, Shipley.

Cultural richness

SIR - It seems that all of the areas featured in "Top of the grots" (January 11) except Manywells are those which are more culturally diverse than others. Since the Council is proud to promote this rich diversity, they can hardly complain about it.

The stacking-up of products on the pavement for example, although inconvenient to pedestrians, an eyesore and inevitably causing litter, is just the way some cultures trade. This also indicates to visitors entering Bradford on main routes such as Leeds Road that they are in a richly-diverse area and may like to stop and take in some of the atmosphere.

It is unfair to encourage other cultures to live in the city and then grumble about their ways. We cannot be selective about which aspects of these cultures we embrace.

As for the site on Birkshall Lane, would it be cynical to suggest that it is next to a council-run gipsy site?

The Council must clean these areas more often with more employees and more expensive machines.

Michael Rainsford, Stanley Road, Bradford.

No consultation

SIR - I can assure Miss E M Holbrook (Letters, January 4) that many in Bradford do care about the desecration of our built heritage.

However, decisions are made and go through on the nod before the inconvenience of having to notify the public.

Take, for instance, the decision to allow a housing association to build a social housing enclave on land adjacent to Undercliffe Cemetery. The deal was done and the old school site sold off apparently without any consultation or referral to any other officer or interested party as to whether or not this was a suitable use of public land.

Objections from the Undercliffe Cemetery Charity (custodians of the site), local residents (losing this recreational space and public right of way), English Heritage, The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the local MP and the country's leading art historian were fended off or side-stepped to pass the planning application through committee. Written protests are simply ignored by those at the top.

If, and it is very probable, this new threat will be the demise of our finest built heritage, none of those responsible will be accountable and I doubt they will even have a troubled conscience.

C E Clark, Undercliffe Old Road, Bradford 2.

Beautiful foxes

SIR - I feel I must put quill to parchment when people like G E Sykes complain about foxes (Letters, January 9). Firstly they are not vermin. They are beautiful animals that are only doing what everybody else does, and that is trying to exist. As for causing disease, everything that breathes causes disease and humans are the worst offenders.

The fox is the most persecuted animal around. Sadly it kills a few chickens and lambs. How else can it fulfil its basic instincts?

Humans kill millions of chickens and lambs every day and nothing is said about that.

I am very pleased to see that fox hunting will be banned soon even under licence. The Government will be wise to take this step to please millions and upset a few. That's democracy.

Derek Wright, Westbury Street, Bradford 4.

Follow guidelines

SIR - I read with interest Olwen Vasey's excellent article on the UDP and the public inquiry process.

The Jenny Lane Committee have campaigned for six years to save the Jenny Lane fields. We have had to raise over £7,500 by various fund-raising activities to pay for legal costs. Other campaign groups across Bradford will have incurred similar costs.

Surely our energies and the Council coffers should be put to a greater cause? There should be no necessity for campaigning. Planning Policy Guidance contained in PPG3 and 17 should be more strongly enforced.

The Government's theme throughout PPG3 is that councils should utilise previously used and developed land for housing in preference to other sites not previously used.

The Government planning policy document PPG17 states: "Open spaces, sports and recreation all underpin people's quality of life. Well-designed and implemented planning policies for open space, sport and recreation are therefore fundamental to delivering broader Government objectives."

These guidelines should be enforced. Developers should have to use brownfield sites and should not be allowed to "cherry pick" greenfield sites.

I hope that the inspectors will note these planning policy guidelines and use some commonsense when deciding the fate of the sites under review.

Julia Donoghue (Jenny Lane Action Group), Moorland Avenue, Baildon.

Closure disgrace

SIR - What shocking news that the Priestley Centre is to close. All the money spent on Bradford's obviously hopeless bid to become Capital of Culture would have been much better spent on contributing to the cultural life of the city by rescuing The Priestley.

The junior Saturday morning drama class is a valued asset to many children.

Get real Bradford. Stop wasting money. Spend it on the cultural life of the citizens and make Bradford a better place to live.

Gloria Dallas, New Toftshaw, Bradford 4.

The price of greed

SIR - Like me, many people have received letters from their building societies/banks regarding the shortfall of thousands of pounds of their loans/mortgages' endowment policies. Though I am no economist, I do understand a bit of market fluctuation. However I believe there are other factors to take into consideration.

The interest rate decreased for the mortgages as well as investments. Therefore the amount of repayment of the mortgages/loans are decreased and doesn't make any difference if the investment is reduced accordingly.

In my opinion the shortfall of the policies is not due to the profit loss of the investment. It is due to the huge increase of the directors' and managers etc. salaries which have swallowed all the profits that the companies have made.

Therefore we, the home owners, have to pay the shortfalls of thousands of pounds to clear our loans/mortgages.

Britain is run by or as America. Therefore it's not surprising that fat cats get away with any thing.

Mubarik Iqbal, Oulton Terrace, Bradford 7