Keighley police's decision to have officers based back in Ilk-ley is a welcome sign that the force is listening at last to the genuine concerns of people in the town.

Since changing the system back in February the perception has been, rightly or wrongly, that the police had 'moved out' of Ilkley and were not on hand when they were needed. That feeling has been exacerbated by a recent crime spate which saw many of the town centre's businesses broken into or vandalised - some for the first time in their history.

Chief Superintendent Graham Sunderland may be quite correct in his assertion that by briefing officers in Shipley before and after their Ilkley shifts they were able to target crime in the area more effectively. But whatever its practical impact, the move severed a link between the local station and officers and, crucially, was seen by the community as a symbolic desertion.

Chief Supt Sunderland's claims now that the same 'intelligence-led' approach will be continued by improving IT facilities but it begs the question - why couldn't that have been achieved before, using the inexpensive wonders of computer, telephone or video links to brief officers at Ilkley?

Ilkley Parish Council and Ilkley Business Forum representatives have rightly given cautious nods of approval to the development, while noting that unless it comes with quicker crime response times or increased patrols it may achieve little. Having our own sergeant and an inspector with responsibility for the area should mean an end to the frustrations of all those victims of crime who, for the last five months, have been referred to Keighley or Shipley only to never find out what is actually happening with their case.

The Ilkley Gazette has not made itself popular with the force this year by daring to give vent to some of those frustrations and by reporting on the anxieties of local people.But if this move results in a real point of local police contact be-ing re-established we will be the first to applaud Chief Supt Sunderland and his force.