Letters

We fully appreciate Bradford Metropolitan District Council's concerns that traders close to the site should suffer as little as possible and our site agent Andy Torn has worked closely with the authority, and will continue to do so, to ensure that the council's requirements are met as fully as possible.

In view of the history of the bridge, readers may be interested to know that we are refurbishing the steel plates, recasting a new deck and replacing the road paving.

The existence of numerous services across the bridge makes this a very complex project with a very tight programme, which is why it will be necessary to close the bridge completely for a time.

In co-operation with the council, we shall endeavour to keep inconvenience to a minimum and to continue our good working relationship with the authority and with local residents.

C SPENCER,

Managing Director,

C Spencer Ltd.

SIR - I have some observations on your editorial in last week's Keighley News.

You stated that the KN had taken flak for both under-reporting and over-reporting on the fortunes of the Cougars.

To my way of thinking, given that the Cougars are the town's only professional sports team, they should get the lion's share of the sports pages, thin times or not!

I appreciate that there are numerous synchronised macrame teams and all-in jelly jugglers, all competing for space, but the town's top sports team must come first.

On the subject of reporting, is there a finite number of sports pages or are events not covered simply because of lack of info?

Lastly, new Cougars coach Lee Crooks was reported as saying he would like the club to get back to just a few years ago, with entertainment and flair on the pitch and the great atmosphere on the terraces.

While I'm sure that he will make something of the playing squad to be proud of once again, I'm afraid the atmospheric side of things can never return until a certain individual can be coaxed or cajoled into retaking his seat (or mike) high in the stand.

We all know that he and he alone can be the only one to whip up the razzmatazz that Lee Crooks would like to return.

COLIN WEST,

Broomhill Avenue,

Keighley.

SIR - Instead of shouting from the rooftops that a Keighley computer firm is allegedly committing a crime so heinous that it warrants the full weight of Cllr Thorne's jurisdiction to fall upon the hapless culprit, could not the intelligence of the Keighley-based Bradford Councillor engage the errant culprit in a face to face private conversation, before having a public convulsion.

Many believe that we in this area need to encourage companies, small or large, to bring work into Aire-Worth. I suggest that Cllr Thorne's way of handling this particular issue shows that once again Bradford Councillors are not in touch with what should have been a commonsense approach to any small company trying to make commercial headway in these times of bureaucratic nightmares.

From the article in the Keighley News, it is obvious that the public-sprited town centre councillor is concerned, genuinely, with road safety, so I therefore suggest that he should take his big stick to Bradford Council for causing distraction to motorists at flowering road islands where sponsors names are displayed.

Or could it be that there is one rule for those who pay and another for those who don't?

BRIAN HUDSON,

Prospective Independent Councillor for Keighley West Ward.

SIR - For the past two years I have fought to bring an end to Bradford Council's domination of the political, social and economic stranglehold on this region. Therefore I am standing as an Independent candidate for the Worth Valley Ward in the May 1998 Local Government elections.

Other people of like mind, in the name of democracy, might feel the necessity of joining in the fight for the cause of local representation in the Aire and Worth regions, which would be free of party political nepotism and patronage.

This region needs a separate strategy of mammoth proportions.

Planning needs to be based on local needs. Sustainability, consultation, regeneration, education, proper care of the old, the infirm and the needy should be paramount. We need to support these words with action which can only be possible if all rates and rate support grants which originate in this area are also spent in this area.

I am against closed door, clandestine meetings. I demand free access for the local press to all meetings, without exceptions! 'Gagging' of any past or present employees (or Councillors) of local government should be barred. 'Confidentiality', for any reason, in local government should also be barred.

Secret meetings of Aire Worth planners with developers should be made an instant dismissal offence. Every council official or councillor, at any meeting, discussing anything affecting any public issues should take minutes of that meeting and these should be made available within seven working days for public scrutiny.

The blatant arrogance which I have seen has convinced me and others that democracy in local government is in danger of being debased, abused and prostituted for political aspirations. It is time for the public to be independent, if votes are not to be wasted.

DAVID SAMUELS,

Station Road, Oxenhope.

SIR - I am in the act of filling in the application forms to stand as an Independent candidate for election to the Bradford Council in the May elections.

The reason for my decision is simple. Not one of the political parties can be trusted to keep their word and I do not have to prove it for they do that themselves. Voting for any of them can therefore be described as a self inflicted wound.

At the moment, Labour have held power over Bradford Council for several years. Before them the Tories held power.

In order to wrest power from the Tories, Labour promised home rule for Keighley and District if they won the elections.

Labour won the election and has held power ever since without giving a single thought to the promise they gave the electorate.

FREDERICK HIRLAM,

Prospective candidate

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.