The new bus station for Keighley centre is an absolute must, and is a keystone to building and maintaining the future prosperity of the town centre.

Just as important is the basic fact that building must be right in the first place. Every architect, planner, engineer, councillor, operator knows that. They also know that their plans must meet a stack of rules and regulations.

Just how on earth then has the situation arisen where people in wheelchairs or with other mobility problems are left facing an 'assault course' to catch a bus?

Two drop off points have been identified, but that still leaves wheelchair users having to cross a road and cover a distance of around 200 yards to get to the terminus.

Senior council engineer Phil Sawley confirms the issue of crossing the road is a valid point. He doesn't know how or if it has been written into the traffic orders, or if it has been overlooked.

Another equally valid point is that after the plans are discussed on Monday there will be a three-week public consultation period during which objections can be raised.

An issue as important as this should have been dealt with in the first instance and not left to the public to spot and raise. Back to the drawing board now.

Big ideas, big heart

Fatima Shah has some big ideas for her community. She wants to do something new in the Millennium which will bring together residents of all cultures, especially women, to rebuild a true community at Stockbridge.

She has a tremendous wish-list of improvements. We salute Fatima today, a young mother with a heart as big as her ideas.

Dear Reader

I received another nasty, pernicious letter this week - unsigned and with no address of course - accusing me and the newspaper of having double standards when it comes to reporting issues concerning a section of our community.

My first reaction and that of the team was to throw it in the bin. I gave the matter some thought, and deemed it a gross insult to the journalists working here and decided to share it with you.

I'm not going into details, but a typical phrase is .... "if they were white children you would have screaming headlines..." The writer claimed we didn't fully report on a couple of stories last week because we didn't mention those involved were from an Asian background.

Utter nonsense. Firstly there is no evidence to back up the claim, and secondly even if it were the case it is totally irrelevant to the story.

The laws of the land are quite specific and clear on matters of 'race reporting'. The PCC also has rules by which we abide. Whilst we may be unpopular with the author and others who share his or her views, I can assure you we are equally out of favour with other sections of our community.

Journalists have to be thick skinned and are used to criticism of all kinds - sometimes justified. But when the criticism is totally our of order and unjustified, then as editor I will speak out and defend the reputation of this newspaper and its staff.