SIR – The latest ‘news’ you gave us about Westfield evinces your usual optimism.

It would be interesting to know how many – or more likely, how few – Bradford residents believe that Westfield will ever do anything to the bomb site that was Forster Square.

Certainly I do not. After all, what have they to gain? After the ten years or so they have been fighting off all attempts to get them to start on their ridiculous ‘development’, surely only a few well-paid politicians could possibly think any success for their very dull mall if completed.

Meanwhile, thanks to Westfield’s subsequent inactivity and the culpable behaviour of various city councils (and their advisers, if any) in failing to insert heavy penalty clauses in the agreement with Westfield, the centre of our city has died.

Of course, the expensively-pitiful and pointless efforts made recently – the pool and its fountains as well as the dog latrine ‘city park’ have done absolutely nothing to encourage new shops or to stop the increasing closing down of the few remaining shops.

Ian R McDougall, Hawkswood Avenue, Heaton

EDITOR’S NOTE: Westfield did not take over control of the site until the autumn of 2005.