Letters to the editor

Avenue, what is going on? Why do I have to pay my road tax, council tax

and use more petrol and sit in a traffic jam trying to get on to Odsal

roundabout in order to travel on Halifax Road to get to my place of

work?I always use Netherlands Avenue because this is my route to work.

If the residents are afraid of speed merchants racing up and down, then

put some road humps in place.Why should I have to go the long way round?

Netherlands Avenue has been there for donkey's years. It was the main

road from Oakenshaw to Halifax avoiding Odsal Top.If the plan to close

the road at the top goes ahead, what will the residents do when they

want to go to Halifax - go down to Huddersfield Road, to Odsal and back

past their own homes?And when they come back from Halifax, they will

have to go the long way round to get home.What a stupid and crazy world

we live in. Use some common sense and stop dithering.David Jones,

Cleckheaton Road, Low Moor.Closed mindsSir - Labour councillors in Leeds

are up to their old tricks in relation to Leeds-Bradford Airport. They

used their majority to defeat a resolution to investigate the pros and

cons of part-privatising the airport. I don't know whether privatisation

would be a good thing or not but surely any councillor worth his salt

would have an open mind on the matter until in possession of all the

facts. Blocking a resolution, the purpose of which was to give them the

facts to then go on and make an educated decision, speaks volumes.Why

are such major regional issues being left solely to the closed minds of

Labour councillors in Leeds and their own political agenda?This is a

regional asset, the future of which should be debated at a regional

level. The other West Yorkshire local authorities own 60 per cent of the

airport and Bradford has an equal 40 per cent holding with Leeds.

Private involvement at the airport could well yield significant economic

benefits for Bradford and the other regions.But how will we ever know if

Leeds continues to snuff out the opportunities for an open and honest

debate?George Smith, Little Horton Lane, BradfordSolution neededSir - In

your article about the traffic problems through Shipley and Saltaire

(T&A March 26), I found MP Chris Leslie's comments unbelievable. It is a

fact that the A650 through Shipley and Saltaire is a Government road.

The Council does not need to shuffle responsibility for solving the

traffic problems on to the Government's Highways Agency. It already has

them. Rather than trying to wash his hands of the matter, Mr Leslie

would be better spending his time getting his own engineers to bring

forward a solution and getting his Government to put funding in place to

implement it. They have, after all, had more than 30 years to think

about it.Councillor Margaret Eaton, Leader of the Conservative Group,

Bradford MDC, City Hall, Bradford.No rush here...SIR - Re the letter

from Mrs C A Binsley, I could not agree more. The 'To Let' signs on the

Euroway Estate are clearly visible when driving down the

M606.Furthermore, the Carpets International head office building on

Rooley Lane remains unoccupied and available to let months after the

company when into receivership.Where is the rush of companies wanting to

locate to this allegedly prime site?Surely all existing sites must be

occupied before the planners even contemplate any further decimation of

the green belt.The ridiculous guided bus lane has already ruined

Manchester Road. Rooley Lane must not be allowed to follow suit.G Singh,

Toller Lane, Bradford.Credit St Peter'sSIR - If Chris Cody (Letters,

March 24) had discussed the situation at St Peter's Church with me, he

would be offering St Peter's the credit he gives to my colleague Paul

Maybury.During 2003 St Peter's was approached by three other

telecommunications companies other than Vodafone, wishing to install

equipment in the church. These potentially lucrative approaches were

rejected.The work by Vodafone to which he refers is an 'upgrade' only in

the sense that it increases capacity to levels agreed as long ago as

1997.While we intend to honour our contract with Vodafone we are not

considering any new installations.Before the mast at St Peter's was

installed, the church went through a detailed public consultation

process (which it was not statutorily required to undertake).There is no

evidence from any authority, including those mentioned in Mr Cody's

letter, to suggest that the masts are harmful to public health.Reverend

John Rainer, Vicar, St Peter's Church, Moorhead Lane, Shipley.End the

slaughterSIR - Right now on the ice floes off Canada, hundreds of

thousands of baby seals are being cruelly clubbed and killed.European

legislation which led to the effective ban on this hunt only applies to

Harp seals until they shed their white coats, which begins when they are

only ten or 12 days old. They then become fair game.This slaughter is

called a 'hunt' but in reality the seals at that age are unable to

survive in the sea, meaning they are helpless to escape the

'hunter'.This year as many as 350,000 will be killed. Scant regard is

paid to laws governing the slaughter as the Canadian Government ignores

evidence of breaches of the regulations.The Canadian Government also

ignores public opposition to the hunt and even subsidises it. Therefore,

anyone visiting Canada is unwittingly contributing to the hunt.Until

Canada stops clubbing helpless seals to death Respect for Animals urges

people to boycott Canada as a tourist destination.A nation-wide campaign

is being launched to draw attention to www.boycott-canada.com where

readers can find out more about the issue. Alternatively, please call

(0115) 9525440.Nicki Brooks, Director, Respect for Animals,

Nottingham.Great giveawaySIR - We are supposed to have a Prime Minister

running England. In our case it appears not.Agencies all over the world

are dictating what we must do. No wonder he doesn't want the people to

have a referendum as he has already signed us away.This is after many

men and women gave life and limb for England to be a free country.They

didn't know England in later years would be run by a man who delights in

giving everything to be run by foreigners.D Burnett, Great Horton Road,

Bradford.Immoral CouncilSIR - It is quite evident that Bradford Council

has no morals as regards covering green fields with bricks and

concrete.They have been at this game a long time now, as a Sunday

newspaper put them at the top of the list many years ago for chopping

trees down, and they have not stopped yet.Our green fields and beauty

spots mean nothing to them along with the loss of wildlife and birds.

Everything is fast disappearing, and the legacy we are leaving behind

for future generations is a big nil.B J Rudd, Roger Court,

Undercliffe.Fumes and noiseSIR - Councillor Owens is splitting hairs in

objecting to my reference to plans for industrial building alongside

Bingley South Bog (T&A, March 26). The butterflies, birds and frogs will

not be able to read "Dowley Gap Industrial Estate". However, along with

the confused wildlife, if this goes ahead we will all smell the fumes

and hear the noise generated by paint manufacturing and the extra

vehicles travelling to and from the site, day and night. As for building

on a bog, it didn't stop the piledrivers that laid the foundations for

the new A650 road. The proposed site, which is near to Beckfoot School,

was formerly green belt until an inspector redesignated it. Reference to

my political history is irrelevant. Quentin Deakin, Green Party

Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Shipley, Newark Road,

Crossflatts.