Letters to the Editor

SIR - Your headline about Mr Robinson's "wish" to retire at 56 (T&A, November 8) clearly illustrates the ever-widening gap in terms of public and private sector pension provision.

At a time when it is expected most private-sector employees will have to work past their 65th birthdays, most public-sector workers will still be able to retire at 60 and in Mr Robinson's case four years earlier.

It is ironic the "gilt-edged" pension provided for Mr Robinson effectively robs the local authority of further years of careful stewardship but I am sure that is the least of Mr Robinson's worries.

He's served his time with distinction and now it is time to pick up his just (and legally-binding, the unions would say) desserts.

Just a shame council tax payers will have to continue funding these fantastic "deferred pay" schemes for the rest of their lives while being told to work longer and save harder themselves.

Let's hope council budgets for future years take full account of these fantastic pension promises - it will only get worse now the age 60 rule is preserved for a specific section of our workforce.

Nigel P Shaw, Westmoor Avenue, Baildon.

Jazz dilemma

SIR - Many thanks to Mal Webb and the members of his famous New Orleans Band for entertaining us over the past 40 years as they announced their last gig on November 5.

The Ryshworth Club was heaving last year on the 40th anniversary - maybe it's the big event that attracts.

It's a dilemma, particularly for resident bands, how to retain their core support and attract new fans. And how does the host club remain viable with falling numbers? Free admission?

Recently a friend took me to the Leeds Jazz Club. Entrance was £4 and there is a different band every week. Maybe if local bands got together and exchanged venues and introduced a visiting group from time to time, charging entrance fees, a more viable music scene can be created.

It's a regular moan from club secretaries that while it was a good night not much drink was sold but that's the way of things.

If the music event is not financially viable, then a different deal should be offered. Most of us would pay a modest fee to keep our music alive.

R J Lacey, Wrose Road, Bradford.

Unwelcome news

SIR - I would agree with R Villermann (T&A, November 3) that Bradford requires substantial investment in its transport infrastructure which would involve building a cross-rail link, re-opening railway stations and lines.

However, I would disagree with him that the collapse of Leeds Supertram is to be welcomed, because it is unlikely that light rail would be introduced into Bradford as a separate initiative, and was always dependant on an extension from Leeds.

A rapid transit survey was undertaken in 2002, which identified heavily-congested corridors within West Yorkshire, and it was pre-supposed that Leeds Supertram would have played a significant part in alleviating gridlocked roads in the region.

Although some of the benefits of Leeds Supertram may have been promoted as a mechanism of creating additional employment in Leeds, its primary purpose was to alleviate road congestion by encouraging modal shifts from the car and to extend travel opportunities for the disadvantaged.

It is disturbing that the Government is reneging on previous agreements to further develop and extend new and existing light rail schemes, except in London which is already benefiting from major investment schemes.

Alec Suchi, Bradford Rail Users' Group, Allerton Road, Bradford.

No benefit to us

SIR - Now that the Leeds Supertram project has been confined to the history books, it makes one wonder as to why it was ever conceived in the first place, the projected area being limited to north, south and east Leeds. Here in the west of the city, seemingly, we pay no taxes, and would not have been included in the new service.

A short-sighted decision, taken 46 years ago, by the then Leeds Corporation, ended the electric tram service in the city when it could have been modernised and retained.

This also applied to Bradford's trolley buses. Like the trams, they were non-polluting, but no, bureaucracy determined they had to go, and be replaced by smelly diesel vehicles.

A Shipman, Harley Gardens, Swinnow.

Why the insults?

SIR - I thought long and hard about N Brown's letter (T&A, October 28) before deciding to reply.

Quite frankly I found it downright insulting to call myself and all those who voted for New Labour at the general election "idiots".

It is not the first time this man has written derogatory letters.

Phrases like "Blair prefers foreigners" and "illegal immigrants could become suicide bombers" are by any standards loose talk.

What puzzles me is why he is so obsessed with politics, yet thinks all the parties are "useless". I just don't understand the reasoning behind his insulting behaviour.

Geoff Tasker, Park Road, Low Moor, Bradford.

Time to protest

SIR - We are always reading of the Odeon, its future and, even more distressing, its non-future.

Most of the older people in this city remember this fine building as it was. Why can we not have a public meeting, held during the daytime not in the evening as arranged previously with little publicity?

I am sure older people would then attend in large numbers. Yorkshire Forward and Maud Marshall should not be allowed to sell this site without a very open meeting which should be held with a panel, rather like Question Time on TV.

The Odeon should be a concert hall which could be used by all age groups, young and old, which could also host meetings for various groups, social activities for pensioners and tea dances for a start.

Come on Bradford, wake up, it will be gone if we do not protest louder. If we don't get organised Leeds once again will beat us to it.

Where is the prominent citizen of Bradford who will take on this task?

Jean Walker, Kentmere, Wrose.

Rebellion brewing

SIR - I wonder if the Council could tell us why we should be made to pay this unfair huge council tax when in fact we should be getting a huge rebate for all the upset and annoyance this Broadway regeneration is causing us, and the loss of some of our best shops and stores?

The more we pay, the fewer services we seem to receive.

I do not mind paying for my dustbin being emptied, and for the Fire Brigade on standby, but I do object to paying the huge salaries and early-retirement pensions for the police because they have never done anything for me.

When you call them they never turn up, not even on a 999 call.

What else do I get for my money? I don't got out at night, so street lighting does not affect me. Our paths are never gritted in icy weather.

If the Council demands a rise in next year's Council tax, they are asking for a rebellion.

N Brown, Peterborough Place, Undercliffe.

Super volunteers

SIR - I would like to congratulate all the exceptional volunteers who were awarded a Year of the Volunteer medal this week by the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire.

A total of 158 volunteers from the county were honoured with a medal for their commitment to the community.

The medal is in recognition of the impact volunteers are making at a local level, helping children with their reading, befriending isolated patients in GP surgeries, combatting crime by mentoring with young people at risk of offending and tackling problems with the environment by cleaning up local parks.

I hope these medal winners encourage more volunteers to get involved and make a difference in their community.

Elizabeth Salter, CSV Head of Campaigns, Pentonville Road, London.