Letters to the Editor

SIR - To all you smokers in England, here in the New York area there is no smoking in pubs, restaurants, or any public buildings of any description. And it has worked. Fewer people smoke. I was a smoker, but now I absolutely hate the smell of it.

People who do smoke are not allowed within so many feet of a building, and in schools it isn't even allowed on the property, even outdoors. Smoking is now like mobile phones: if you want to use them, move away from other people's space - it is annoying.

Diane Duguid, E.4th St, Deer Park, New York.

Blame humans

SIR - Re "The plight of the skylark" letter from Brian Shackleton (May 27). In his opinion the skylark's decline is because of the protection of birds of prey. I consider that to be the argument put forward by the "please-let-us-hunt" brigade, who also argue it is okay to hunt and kill foxes, as they have no natural predators. Do we cull humans because we cause more damage?

It is humans who have rapidly destroyed their environment and food resources by using insecticides and building on their land. Knowles Lane opposite the football field where the trading estate is now used to be a haven for many skylarks. Sadly they have all disappeared because they have no nesting land or food source which is another reason why they are in decline. Farmers no longer leave scrubland to nest on.

In some countries in Europe they were considered a delicacy although I believe that has now been outlawed.

The sparrowhawk has not increased in numbers and they do not only take skylarks. They take a variety of wildlife, for example mice, rats, voles, blackbirds, meadow pipits, and many other species of birds.

Colin Stubbs, Moor Lane, Birkenshaw.

Stamp this out...

SIR - Surely Nigel Doughty's £250,000 donation to Labour's fighting fund for the election is a questionable conflict of interest, considering that Labour, via John Prescott, have already been heavily subsidising the wind farm industry out of taxpayers' pockets and Malcolm Wicks, the new Energy Minister, has just announced a continuation of this course of action?

Nigel Doughty's company L M Glasfiber, the world's biggest wind turbine manufacturer, will do very nicely thank you from the push for wind turbines in this country.

It is known lobbyists are paid to push commercial interests to their contacts in No 10, but I find this to be totally abhorrent and against our democratic principles in this country.

Is it right that rich people, with the power money brings, should be able to influence what our democratically-elected government do?

It is high time this unacceptable practice was looked into and stamped out to restore honour, trust and integrity to Parliament, because we might just as well be living in the 'banana republic' mentioned by the electoral fraud judge, if nothing is done.

Mrs Jane Birkby, Jubilee Road, North Somercotes, Louth.

Unequal treatment

SIR - Re the statement from the Council spokesman about my husband's check-up for a disability pass (report, May 27). The form clearly stated that if he could answer yes to any one of four questions (eg: "Do you get mobility allowance?, which my husband can't get because he is over 65) he would automatically qualify. So everyone is not treated equally.

Mrs Kathleen Craig, Poplar Drive, Windhill.

Out of our hands

SIR - Like Pamela McCallum (Letters, May 25) I do not want to see the privately-owned land adjoining Bridge Street and Ball Street in Thornton being developed for housing. Yet as a planning councillor I have no legal power to stop it. Under Government regulations the land is deemed to be "previously-used land" and therefore housing is allowed on it, whether we like it or not.

The only control planning councillors have is in respect of the design of the proposed housing. Councillors have to balance any criticisms we have of the design against the likelihood of the plans being approved by the Government's Planning Inspectorate, if an applicant appeals against our decision.

Of course as a Thornton councillor I could still have voted against the application to curry favour with local residents. This would have been totally dishonest as all planning regulations were met.

Councillor Clive Richardson (chairman of Bradford Area Planning Panel), Bront Old Road, Thornton.

Not the answer

SIR - Mr Bennett's suggestion of running an overhead monorail system around the edge of Bradford city centre has some value as it would enable convenient access from one part of the centre to another (T&A, May 26).

However the scheme would be costly to construct, would remain a separate system from the main rail network and as a result be limited in its ability to encourage motorists to travel by alternative means.

A preferable option would involve a comprehensive light rail system running from the centre to the suburbs, serving the two railway stations, and track-sharing with heavy rail for example from Shipley to Halifax. This would enable continuous journeys across the two separate rail networks.

A heavy rail link between the two networks would provide additional suburban and intercity services for Bradford, thus raising the profile of rail travel and increasing patronage. This would address the low patronage from Bradford which Mr Brown observes in the T&A of May 23.

Alec Suchi (secretary, Bradford Rail Users Group, Allerton Road, Allerton.

Rose-tinted view

SIR - I was saddened to read Coun Vanda Greenwood's letter last week lamenting the demise of Chris Leslie as Shipley's MP.

Hopefully, she found time to read some of the other letters that appeared that evening from ordinary voters whose experience of Mr Leslie had not been so rose-tinted.

I am also sorry she is so dismissive of Philip Davies partly because he has a majority of 422 votes. I am sure Chris Leslie would have been overjoyed had a similar result gone in his favour!

It is also unfair of her to suggest Shipley will be consigned to the scrapheap because Philip Davies has indicated he is happy to remain a backbencher.

I believe this is a major reason why Mr Leslie lost the seat. Had he been a better constituency MP and less self-serving, like Keighley Labour MP Ann Cryer, he might have retained the seat.

Liz Balding, Ellar Carr Road, Cullingworth.

So much lost...

SIR - We were getting worried - a whole week and no feelgood letter from regularly correspondent David Rhodes. But now someone has dared to criticise his perception of paradise Bradford.

He asks "What has gone? Most quality city-centre stores, pubs and restaurants (yes we know...promises, promises); a lot of fine heritage architecture; people who actually want to visit Bradford; a huge number of businesses; open space, being lost to overbuilding; confidence in law and order; propaganda aside, grassroots confidence in the future.

Don't take my word for it. All of this can be verified in published statistics.

And to describe a football team that's fallen rapidly to halfway down the third division as "steadily climbing to the top" says it all. Try going out more without the blinkers.

M Long, Greenside Lane, Bradford.

Baildon address

SIR - Jean Mitchell says let us get our local history and geography right (Letters, May 25). In my letter of May 3 I do not believe I got anything wrong.

I can understand her saying that Salts School by its very name is a Saltaire school and not a Baildon school. However it is on the Coach Road which is a Baildon address and that is why it may be referred to as a Baildon school in the papers so often.

Iain Morris, Caroline Street, Saltaire.