Letters to the Editor

SIR, - Now i have turned 40 I seem to be turning into a 'grumpy old man'! Or is it the fact that we are paying more and more rates/tax etc and receiving less and less service for it?

I took my little girl into town this morning, drove halfway down on roads that are riddled with pot holes, with road markings that are worn away so that no one knows who has the right of way.

I walked along The Grove and thoughtI would show Laura the spring fountain in the gardens at the top of Cunliffe Road. I used to use this regularly when I was a 'youth' as it was ice cold and tasted fantastic. On getting to the fountain it was full of debris and not working!

About three weeks ago I saw someone breaking into a house in Ilkley. I drove along and was surprised when I saw a police car.

I stopped it but was told he was going off duty and to go report it to the Police Station. I said it would be closed now wouldn't it? Yes he replied but ring three times and someone will answer! I did that and guess what, no answer. At that point I gave up.

I could go on and on, but what is the point? The council and local government will do nothing due to 'lack of funds', but where are they spending the money? Not in Ilkley.

Tim Houseman

26 Dale View,

Ilkley.

Rectifying lights

SIR, - How long can it take for the Bradford Council Officers to rectify the Victoria Avenue traffic light problem?

Addingham, Skipton, Burley-in-Wharfedale and Otley all have bypasses. Just because Ilkley cannot agree to have one or where to have one, why should everybody else suffer. Victoria Avenue lights are just another pathetic measure to move the traffic somewhere else, anywhere but in the middle of Ilkley and they don't seem to care where.

Bradford Council officers stated in last week's article: 'The lights were placed as a gateway to the town to prevent build-ups of pollution-belching traffic in the centre."

It doesn't matter who else gets the pollution as long as it isn't Ilkley. Traffic was stated as backing up to Silsden roundabout at rush hour. Wait until the summer evenings when everyone heads home from the Dales and see how far they tail back then.

Mr Day seems obsessed with the rat-run issue. People only 'rat-run' to save time. If the major route through Ilkley worked effectively, Victoria Avenue would not be used as a rat-run, but it would still be used by a few and still cause the same problem with backing up traffic. It's simple; just stop right hand turns at Victoria Avenue (A 'No Right turn' sign wouldn't cost too much would it!!).

The road at Easby Road junction is wide enough to white line a filter lane for right hand turning traffic.

Problem solved. Better still get a bypass!!

CLAIR PEARCE

Addingham.

Quake victims

SIR, - Mr. Rod Walmsley, the President of Ilkley Rotary Club, invited his membership very recently to raise funds for the Earthquake victims in South Asia.

The need was urgent and the request was received with immediate approval but also with a degree of trepidation. Some club members were concerned that another appeal following so soon on the heels of other disasters inviting Ilkley residents' support might encounter donor fatigue.

The possibility of a fundraising dinner that could capture at least some support from this and other Rotary club members in the vicinity was explored somewhat tentatively. Our fears proved completely groundless. Your own paper, the Gazette, took an interest and printed some details of our proposal and very quickly we had other positive interest in what we were doing.

The Bhatti family, owners of 'India, The Restaurant,' agreed to work with us and as their contribution Mr. Ahmer Bhatti offered the use of his restaurant, including service and food facilities. All Rotary had to do was to agree a date and offer tickets for the event.

There was an almost instantaneous sell-out. Inquiries about the dinner came from Ilkley residents as well as from other Rotary Clubs.

As a result, not only did all those who came to dine enjoy a superb meal in good surroundings and in good company, but we succeeded in raising over £1,300 for our named charity. As a postscript to the evening, and almost in confirmation of our good intentions one of the restaurant's own young staff asked if she could donate her wages from that evening towards helping our charity. This spontaneous gesture was very moving.

Our aim initially had been to extend a helping hand from our community in Ilkley to one many miles away that had probably never heard of Ilkley. The positive response from our residents reinforced the strength of that helping hand and this generosity together with that young waitress in particular, made me appreciate how very fortunate indeed we are in this very special community of Ilkley.

On behalf of the Rotary Club of Ilkley, I would like to thank all those who supported our fundraising dinner for the earthquake victims in South Asia.

Philip Chinque

18 Parish Ghyll Drive,

Ilkley

Misrepresenting

SIR, - I always marvel at Mr. Dundas' exceptional talent for mis-representing every issue he writes, or talks, about.

A case in point - at the annual Parish meeting on Wednesday last he claimed the Electoral Commission's decision to nominate four councillors for Ben Rhydding and West wards (who have around 3,500 electors) and three councillors for North and South wards (who have around 2,000 electors) 'gave some people four votes and some only three.'

Not for him the fact that the intention was to even out the representation of the people.

He simply tried to use it for a political point when he compounded his misrepresentation by claiming that the parish council was a major party to the decision. A rather cynical belief in how electoral decisions are made but certainly not based on fact.

B J Cussons,

4 Curly Hill,

Ilkley.

Zone too short

SIR, - A 20 miles per hour zone has been installed in part of Station Road at Burley-in-Wharfedale and I very much approve of this - except that the zone is too short.

It seems ridiculous to revert to 30mph towards the bottom of Station Road, where the shops are and where there is parking on both sides of the road.

Because of the congestion caused by parked cars and large lorries taking goods to the village store, it is rarely possible to reach 30mph at the bottom part of Station Road in any event during the day and speed should not be encouraged at night.

I think it would be a good idea to make the whole of the centre of Burley-in-Wharfedale and adjacent streets into a 20mph zone.

A DENNIS BOLTON

14 The Robins,

Burley-in-Wharfedale.

Light sentence

SIR, - News that businessman Scott Dry has escaped a custodial sentence over the death of his sports car passenger, Rachel Scantlebury, beggars belief (Ilkley Gazette, March 30).

A £1,500 fine and one-year driving ban appears to be small punishment. How ironic, perhaps even insensitive that on the same page as this tragic story is reported, a car with 'screaming' performance is advertised. This advertisement offers a car that will 'put some adrenalin back into your life' and is 'designed for the discerning businessman'.

I hope that those enticed by such irresponsible advertising, whether businessmen or otherwise, are indeed capable of discerningly good driving.

David Green

12 Hill Crescent,

Burley-in-Wharfedale.

'Public consultation was flawed' claim

SIR, - Christine Dale is our Parish Clerk (letters, March 30) and should not be made an apologist for councillors' incompetence. I'm sure Christine knows that equality in votes is our fundamental democratic right.

Most people won't have seen this information before. It's based on the very latest register of voters. This map shows just how unequal the voting plan is that Conservative councillors have agreed. Whether you get four votes or three now depends on where you live in Ilkley.

Councillors' individual and collective agreement to this plan was crucial. Only they knew of the plans they had recommended, because the 'public consultation' was flawed. Councillors got their 'consultation papers' directly, which ensured that their prefered voting arrangement was the one that was recommended. Another gross incompetence by the Conservative led district council.

In Burley-in-Wharfedale and Menston, councillors of a different stripe were consulted - and more forms got through the correct letterboxes - so every voter in those new parishes will now get an equal vote. Another reward for breaking away!

Parts of Ilkley where Labour voters are most concentrated are divided up between the four wards and attached to larger numbers from Conservative voting areas. That's why the four Ilkley Wards are such odd shapes, and cut across distinctive features like the railway, main roads and the river. It's been rigged elections for years, but this four and three votes' deception is a step too far. Ilkley is a gerrymandered monopoly where Conservative councillors believe they can get away with anything - even a 59 per cent increase in taxes - without explaining what they're planning for their Cash Mountain. Maybe they themselves don't know where they're going?

Last June, four in ten Ilkley votes were cast for the Labour candidate - Ann Cryer MP - in the General Election. We know because we sample counted the votes as they came out of the numbered boxes, and watched them divided into bundles for each candidate.

The Conservatives know that too, because they watch the counting alongside us. We all know that ward boundaries and vote allocations are crucial to winning elections.

Unlike big elections, parish voting arrangements rely on the integrity of council recommendations. Conservatives in Ilkley have just failed that test. Again.

Andrew Dundas

Chairman,

Ilkley and Keighley Labour Party