SIR - A couple of recent letters have claimed that the future of Jubilee Gardens in Bingley has somehow been decided in secret by the Council. This is simply not true.

The prime source of this "secret" information was the last publicly-held Neighbourhood Forum in Bingley. Indeed, there have been numerous public meetings and consultations about the future of central Bingley and there will be a special Neighbourhood Forum in October to discuss a range of concept proposals.

At every stage we have ensured that the public have been able to give their comments on the development of preliminary proposals, but there are no firm plans for Jubilee Gardens or anywhere else.

Final proposals for the future of central Bingley will be presented to the local Area Committee in 2003. Elected members will take into account the results of the extensive consultation and also a wide range of other factors such as retail regeneration, transport, emergency vehicle access, etc.

Claiming that there is a conspiracy does not help the debate and will make it more difficult to reach balanced decisions when the time comes. Jubilee Gardens is one aspect of a much wider scheme.

Councillor Colin Gill, Councillor David Heseltine and Councillor Robin Owens (Conservative, Bingley), c/o City Hall, Bradford.

SIR - I would like to thank the staff on Ward 2 at Bradford Royal Infirmary for making our "Jubilee Day " a special one last week.

Olivia and Jake are two hearing-impaired children from The Elizabeth Foundation who are leaving to go to their mainstream schools in September. To make their leaving party a memorable one, a jubilee party was arranged and Jake and Olivia were the king and queen for the day.

The children and parents then went on Parade to Ward 2 at the BRI where throughout the past year children from The Elizabeth Foundation had been for their cochlear implant operation or other procedures.

Four of the children who attend The Elizabeth Foundation have had a cochlear implant over the last year. They are all doing exceedingly well. It was nice for the children to go back to Ward 2 and say hello again. Thank you to all the staff and patients who shared in our celebration and made us feel so welcome.

The Elizabeth Foundation is a charity that supports pre-school deaf children and their families.

Margaret Southern, centre manager, The Elizabeth Foundation, Smith Lane, Bradford

SIR - So Mike Priestley thinks free bus passes for pensioners could cause a problem for people going to work at seven or eight in the morning. Yes, they could find the bus stops full of pensioners waving their free bus passes.

They would soon get fed up and go back to their general time of 10am, when the old bus pass was used.

England is the only country in the EU that misses out on free bus passes. Wales, Scotland and Ireland all get them. Still we see our MPs get a rise, and pensions as well. We should be grateful for that.

You never know, they might give us a free pass when things look up on the money front. You get to think money has to go to asylum seekers, who will be cheap labour at a later date.

SIR - The findings of the Ombudsman on the maladministration of appeals at the Thornton School are I feel serious and raise questions about those who claim to lead the city to better ways.

It is notable that since the complaint the school has changed chairman of governors and changed the admissions appeals by coming into the common system.

At the outset I challenged the changes to admissions as cynical and discriminatory. Led by Councillor Byrom, Thornton School opted out and then after opting out without notice fundamentally changed its target catchments.

The effect of the change was to fundamentally change the intake and disadvantage families who have in previous years had reasonable expectation of a place.

The record speaks for itself and is at odds with the direction we need to travel to build trust and inclusion.

The finding of maladministration against a named individual is very unusual. That finding should call into question the fitness for the role of chairman of Education Scrutiny of Coun Byrom.

Ralph Berry, Labour spokesperson on Education, Leyburn Grove, Shipley.

SIR - I was on my way home from Morrisons at Idle at 5.45pm on July 30 when the heavens opened.

Along Queen's Road, Marlborough Road and Carlisle Road there was not one clear drain. Water was gushing out of each one, hence the floods we drove through (just like the drain outside my friend's home on Heaton Road, which has been blocked for over two years to my knowledge).

Where does the cash go? Had these drains been cleaned out over the dry spell, then flooding wouldn't occur.

C M Taylor, Fairbank Terrace, Girlington.

SIR - The article by Anila Baig (July 22) told of a man who wants a second wife because he does not like the wife he already has. Since bigamy is illegal, the proposed "secret ceremony" will not be legal, so the second woman would clearly be "a bit on the side".

If the first marriage were forced, this contravenes the Declaration of Human Rights, to which Britain subscribes.

Young males outnumber young females, so there is no shortage unless available young men are for some reason classed as ineligible. In today's society, as opposed to mediaeval systems, a woman does not have to marry at all unless she chooses to do so.

The first wife has been treated as merchandise, or worse, yet nobody seems concerned about her rights or feelings, if she is allowed any.

In what country, in what century, are we living?

L Hobsbaum, Willow Crescent, Bradford 2.

SIR - Following the announcement of more cash being found for developing Lister's Mill with a view of converting it into flats, I can't help but wonder if anyone has done any market research on demand for flats in this area, bearing in mind the riots which have occurred in that location in recent years?

One shudders to think what the insurance costs would be for anyone living there.

I do hope that a careful audit is made of all money invested in Lister's and that there is some accountability made for this money.

I also hope that Urban Splash looks after the tab for unlet properties rather than getting the government to bail them out if things go wrong.

John Poltorak, Wheatlands Grove, Heaton.

SIR - I am writing this letter to express my disgust at the recent proposal to either close Thorpe Primary School or merge it with Parkland School.

My grand-daughter attends Thorpe Primary School and I have visited the school many times since its opening last September 2001. In my opinion it is an excellent school with excellent staff that really care about the children and the school.

I think the children in the area should have a choice of which school they would like to attend, and not be forced to go to a large two-form entry school.

Mrs D Smith, Lambert Place, Undercliffe.

SIR - Please help us to save Parkland Primary School. It is a good school and we enjoy going there. We like our teachers and have lots of friends who don't want it to close, so please support us. Thank you.

Kelsey Shoesmith (aged seven), Jamie Schoesmith (four) and Chloe Shoesmith (three), Cavendish Road, Idle.