Bradford Council's decision to stick by its guns and insist that four home-owning Bingley pensioners contribute hundreds of pounds each towards the cost of their tenant neighbours' new windows is outrageous. It has completely ignored the fact that these widows have already spent considerable sums on their own new windows and other improvements when they bought their properties from the Council.

To penalise them by making them pay again for work which will be of no benefit to them is little short of scandalous. The Council's argument that if they didn't pay it would be they who would be penalising other Council taxpayers simply doesn't hold water. There is no logic in the argument. It is like saying that if a decision is taken to improve all the tenanted properties on a Council estate, then those people who have invested their money in buying and improving their own homes should be forced to contribute to the cost - while the tenants who benefit from the refurbishment pay nothing.

The Council should do its job as a landlord and replace the windows of the tenants while leaving the private owners alone. It needs to rethink its decision urgently before it ends up in a legal battle with the pensioners which could end up costing the Council taxpayers considerably more money and will almost certainly be stressful for the widows themselves.

Yet again red tape and bloody-minded bureaucracy are getting in the way of common sense and compassion, creating the impression that this is a Council which cares little about people and their feelings.

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