Changes to our neighbourhoods, villages, towns and cities can affect us all profoundly. There are many areas with sorry tales to tell as a result of ill-thought-through developments in their recent pasts.

It comes as no surprise, therefore, to learn of the concern being expressed in Cleckheaton over the possibility of the town ending up with two giant supermarkets.

Retail giant Asda says it is committed to developing in the town while rival Tesco says it wants to expand its existing operation.

One fear is that the town could not sustain two such stores and it would probably be fair to say that smaller shops already competing with one superstore would not welcome another on their patch.

Some residents have now voiced their opposition to one of the plans and support for the other. Leaving aside the individual merits of each - for final details are far from settled - what is welcome about this whole situation is the willingness of some people to stand up and be counted.

The formation of a pressure group and launch of a website shows that people power is alive and well. This engagement in local issues may seem at odds with the apathy in some quarters evinced by the poor turn-out in the local elections.

Perhaps it is a sign of single-issue politics capturing the public's imagination in a way party politics does not. Or perhaps it is yet another warning shot to our politicians to get involved in the issues that really matter to people.