Chance to voice road concerns

The excellent Transport Study Plan for Ilkley has one huge drawback for the people who live on or near the roads listed above. That is that the proposed traffic lights for Leeds/Skipton Road, the calming and speed limit measures for Valley Drive , Bolling Road, Kings Road and Victoria Avenue are bound to encourage even more drivers to take the Moor Road from Ilkley to Burley/Leeds/Bradford and vice versa as their quickest possible route.

Already the road is grossly over-used.For many it is a wonderful race track morning and evening, with people reaching speeds of 70-90mph. Sheep are killed, people are killed and other accidents are numerous.

This is a narrow, twisting country road with several totally blind spots and a very famous beauty spot. There needs to be traffic calming of all kinds to slow drivers down and a 30mph limit all the way from Ilkley and way past Burley Woodhead.

You can visit the Clarke Foley Centre this Friday or Saturday to see the proposed plans for Ilkley and voice your concern, return the questionnaire with your comments and/or ring Jonathan Spruce or Matt Gatenby at Oscar Faber (the people presenting the plans) on (0113) 3916800.

There is money for improvements to our roads now, but unless we speak up now it will all be spent on other proposed improvements.

LINDA HARTLEY

Hangingstone,

Hangingstone Road,

Ilkley.

Muddying record

SIR, - Isn't it enough that the Rotary Club raised the funds and organisation of Ilkley's attractive bandstand without the parish council seeking to muddy the true record? The proposal that the gardens of the Grove Hospital should be protected, as part of a major urban greenspace, was included in Bradford Council's original land use planning proposal (called a Unitary Development Plan).

The numerous Tree Preservation Orders that had been put in place earlier, and that reinforced Bradford's proposed designation, which would prevent any

development of that part of the site. Developers acting on behalf of Airedale NHS Trust opposed Bradford Council's UDP proposal because the Conservative Government obliged the trust to maximise the market value of its site.

It was only at the time of the subsequent Inquiry (not before) that Conservative councillors took a public interest in these matters, and began to collect signatures for a petition seeking to 'save the Grove Gardens' from development.

Councillors alleged that Bradford would be obliged to concede to Airedale NHS Trust, despite that council's planning proposals to the contrary and the TPOs. Perhaps it was simply a coincidence that the timing of the petition was just prior to council elections? Later on (and with another election pending), our parish council proposed that the gardens should be purchased by public subscription at their full development value. Parish councillors emphasised that there was no other way of saving the site from development.

Our council proposed that we should not trust the long-standing planning proposals and TPOs designated by Bradford Council. Our parish council was repeatedly dismissive of the effectiveness of the tree protection orders in preventing unwanted developments. As we now know, Bradford Council's plan for the Grove Gardens to be a part of major urban greenspace running up to the moor, was accepted by the Inspector at the UDP inquiry.

It may have been helpful that our parish council added its support to Bradford's plan. And the successful prosecution of a developer who carelessly removed a few of the many protected trees has demonstrated the full effectiveness of the TPOs.

The Grove gardens never were bought for Ilkley because there was no need for that. Bradford's original planning proposal, so heavily criticised by our parish council at the time, was fully effective after all.

I recall being heavily criticised for suggesting that Bradford's plan would be effective and that buying the land was unnecessary.

Which brings us to the very positive contributions of the Rotary Club, the Ilkley in Bloom helpers, the excellent design provided by Councillor Martin Smith and to the positive contributions of so many who have built the bandstand and gardens. And to the musicians who provide the entertainment. A generous analysis would add that the enthusiasm of those bodies might have been less, had it not been for the commotion created by councillors who were eager to arouse public concern.

And due credit should be allocated to our Ilkley Gazette that properly recognised 'the threat to the Grove' as a campaigning theme that it ought to fully support.

Andrew Dundas

2 Pines Cottages,

Parish Ghyll Drive,

Ilkley.

True darkness

SIR, - Your letters page on October 4 made refreshing reading. The headline and opening contribution brought much needed commonsense to the 'Manor Park Bends' question - although the reference to 'another fatal crash' was not quite accurate (there has been a marked absence of such accidents in that locality for some years).

But I would like to concentrate on the less widely publicised issue raised by A Haigh - namely the loss of true night darkness in this country.

Much of the night time glare now seen routinely (and accepted too readily) in England is a product of the almost invariable dispersed yellow lighting of our highways.

Whilst, closer to our living areas, one is increasingly assailed by a type of illumination ostensibly used to deter criminals but, in practice, actually aiding and abetting the lawbreakers by providing them with the lighting they need to render their escape route both easier to see and faster to negotiate.

The former can easily (and relatively cheaply) be replaced by the type of 'downthrow' lighting that can be observed, for example, on the M62 around J22. Here - using the same lamp standards as those currently employed - the road surface is illuminated more efficiently, and with a complete absence of the 'yellow glare' that is seen emanating so prominently from the valleys below.

Whilst, as A Haigh so rightly points out, the elimination of the glories of the night sky has made these an almost forgotten feature in this country where - even well inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park itself - the night sky is polluted by the 'yellow glow' to the south.

This fact was forcibly brought back to me a few years ago when I was visiting Australia, close to the small town of Coonabarabran to the north west of Sydney. My first nocturnal venture outside was a glorious revelation of the sheer brilliance of the sky and stars at night, whilst one could well understand and appreciate the words 'and at night the wondrous glory of everlasting stars...' that were conjured up by A J 'Banjo' Patterson in his famous ballad, 'Clancy of the Overflow' to describe the truly magnificent vision that is seen every night in those untarnished areas.

We have been careless and profligate with this part of what was once our routine natural life - but it is an integral part of our heritage and we should want it back. I am pleased that A Haigh noted that my colleagues in the Council for the Protection for Rural England (CPRE) are (amongst many other things) fighting for its restoration.

Dr Jim Burton

Chairman CPRE,

Yorkshire and Humber Region,

139 Curly Hill,

Ilkley.

Light pollution

SIR, - Mr A Haigh's letter to the Gazette regarding light pollution is both timely and well made. Not just Addingham, but many of the small towns and villages in Wharfedale have now become large sources of light pollution.

This comes primarily from far too much street lighting in these communities, causing the wretched amber glow in the sky, and quite visible from many miles away. We should question the necessity, and the cost to the tax payer of all this light. The annual bill must run into hundreds of millions of pounds in the UK and meanwhile, we are hard at work burning vast quantities of fossil fuels, creating in turn all the conditions for global warming.

Hopefully local people and local councillors will start to question the necessity for all this lighting, and perhaps put suggestions into their town and village Design Statements.

The people who are responsible for all these lamp posts are the local highway authority, which will presumably plead that it is doing what the Department of Transport's rule book tells it to do. I believe it is now the right time to question the rule book itself, and at the highest levels, and I have written to my MP to see what can be done about it.

Lamp-post makers, electricity companies and the generators won't like any changes to the 'status quo' but if we really do care about our environment then we should start challenging this 'status quo' and make a massive reduction to global warming unlike the completely useless (and politically driven) wind farm agenda.

With regard to Mr Haigh's concern about private property lighting, I have found that neighbours are usually most helpful when I have politely asked them to review the type and direction of the security lighting on their homes. These high wattage lights cause tremendous glare on neighbouring properties if incorrectly sighted and if left on throughout the hours of darkness.

Local planning laws could be implemented to ensure that only passive infra-red lamps could be used, so that they only switch on when activated by body heat and then switch off after two or three minutes. Mr Haigh might also like to look at the law to assist him. A good place to start is Section 5.92/1/Ato P of the Public Health Act 1936, namely statutory nuisance.

Peter Rigby

Lenner House,

Beamsley.

Cancer awareness

SIR, - Few readers can have failed to notice all the articles on breast cancer in recent weeks, as October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Some people may get bored or overwhelmed by the coverage. Others assume breast cancer services are the best they can be. Unfortunately this is not the case.

For women in the UK, the chance of surviving five years after being diagnosed with breast cancer is worse than if you lived in the US or Europe. Where you live still affects the care you receive. As a member of the UK Breast Cancer Coalition, I want to ensure that all local women are having access to the best.

The Government has made cancer a priority. Its Cancer plan sets out how to tackle the inequalities of cancer services. UKBCC members are auditing local breast cancer services to ensure the Cancer Plan is being acted on. Every Health Authority in the UK is completing this audit to help us build a picture of where services need improving.

Anyone wanting to help the UKBCC to improve breast cancer services should call 020 7629 2434 or log on to www.ukbcc.org.uk

Mrs S WATSON

UKBCC Member,

4 Cardon Drive, Ben Rhydding.