A DRAINAGE boss has admitted major repairs to a dangerous underground culvert need to be carried out as a matter of urgency.

But he was also accused of holding back the full facts of the state of the structure.

Tony Poole, Bradford Council's drainage chief, told Silsden townsfolk that he would be recommending to council members that cash be set aside for the project in this financial year.

Mr Poole gave his assurances at a get-together of parish councillors and Bradford Council officers to solve the ongoing feud over the culvert, which runs under green land off Bradley Road in the town.

The Herald can reveal part of the culvert arch has dropped nearly 50 centimetres since it was built and could collapse.

Silsden Parish Council has threatened to take City Hall bosses to court unless the situation, which has been rumbling on for more than five years, is brought to an end.

Mr Poole and property services officials Ian Tindall and Eric Felton met with parish councillors on Monday when three detailed reports on the state of part of the culvert were made public.

But parish councillor Chris Atkinson was convinced important details were being held back.

He says he was on site when council engineers inspected the entire length of the structure, including the part in danger of collapse.

This was denied by Mr Poole, who said engineers felt it was too dangerous to explore the entire length.

And Mr Felton added: "We as landowners are keen to find out the cost of this scheme and if anything, we have put pressure on our engineers."

The culvert was built to carry a stream under the former tip and was built in three sections.

The majority of the land under which the culvert runs is owned by Bradford Council. But 65 metres is owned by three householders, who have still to reach an agreement on who would foot the bill for any remedial work.

To repair the structure, contaminated ash would have to be removed from the site at a cost of thousands of pounds.

Councillors voiced fears about flooding if the culvert did collapse.

Mr Poole added that it was large enough to take the volume of created during storm conditions.

He said the issue would be scrutinised by top officials, including Bradford Council's new leader Coun Margaret Eaton.

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