SIR - The recent noisy excavations at the new housing site at Cote Farm Thackley make one thing pretty obvious. All the citizens’ efforts to prevent this build happening appear to be in vain.

Persimmon Homes have already jumped the gun and started preliminary work prior to any planning decision. That’s optimism for you. When planning permission is granted first time, or after appeal, the builders will leap into the grassy fields and concrete the lot. 260 affordable and non-affordable houses packed tightly together to further desecrate Thackley and the last bit of green space between Calverley and Bingley gone for good.

In a few month’s time the new tenants will learn a few lessons which the existing local populace are familiar with.

At certain time of the day including Summer Sundays a queue of over half an hour waits along Leeds Road to get through the lights at Windhill. So going to Shipley – Keighley can be a problem.

When Persimmon Homes have finished their project and moved on to their next, the planning panel can look on with satisfaction at what they may consider to be a job well done.

But Idle & Thackley folk know different!

Eric Dean, Leeds Road, Thackley