Not surprisingly, residents of Cottingley are extremely concerned about the extra traffic clogging up the village since the opening of the Bingley relief road. It's a problem that was widely predicted by those who know the area and those who try to travel to work in Bradford from their homes in Bingley and other parts of the Aire Valley.

Certainly the relief road has been hugely beneficial to the centre of the town and those benefits will continue to grow as it undergoes development and regeneration, but none of this helps the residents of Cottingley and Saltaire who suffer serious problems of congestion.

There are three main issues for Cottingley: rat-running by drivers attempting to avoid hold-ups; the sheer pig-headedness and ill manners demonstrated by motorists heading into Cottingley from Bradford who refuse to allow drivers to turn right into Cottingley Moor Road and consequently create tailbacks all the way to the relief road; and the appalling behaviour of drivers bringing children to school at Nab Wood Grammar who cause chaos with their antics, particularly between 8am and 9am.

Unfortunately Cottingley residents will have to suffer some inconvenience to ease the problem because only a one-way system will cure the rat-running, but far more drastic action will be needed to resolve the school issue. One option not yet considered is that of creating separate access to the school from Nab Wood itself.

However, none of these issues at Cottingley and Saltaire will go away until the Council grasps the nettle and realises that a major redevelopment of access routes to Bradford city centre from the Aire Valley is a top priority.