Letters to the Editor

SIR - With regard to Odsal Stadium, once the innovative Tesco re-development scheme was scuppered my immediate conclusion was this valuable site would never attain anything near its full potential.

Recent articles, namely the 'laughing stock' piece and the plan to conduct weddings, appear to support my thoughts that the Bradford Bulls are struggling to make the numbers add up.

Am I wrong to conclude this city now has two under-performing stadia? It is a sad fact that Valley Parade will have many empty seats for years to come and with Odsal trying to make ends meet on fortnightly fixtures in season time, surely a re-think is the only saviour of either or both sites?

August 2005 will see the 20th anniversary of the 1985 World Speedway Final at Odsal, a prestigious meeting which brought the stadium worldwide publicity and in reality locked out Wembley as the country's major venue for such events.

Instead of building upon this and adding to the 1990 final and the one Grand Prix meeting, it appears speedway may never return to the venue it helped to put on the world sporting map.

It is irksome to say the least to find the 2004 World Speedway Cup being held at tiny venues like Eastbourne and Poole. The competition would have been perfect for Odsal.

John Murphy, Langdale Avenue, Fairweather Green.

Be selective...

SIR - I know, craftily, the Chancellor handed over the responsibility for interest rates to the Bank of England but surely this does not preclude his putting extra interest on selected purchases.

It is not the people with an existing mortgage who are encouraging the ever-increasing house prices, but those seeking a new one.

There could be selective rates for the purchase of goods which are considered to be fuelling inflation. In this way the desired result could be obtained without penalising people who have already bought on credit in all good faith.

I am sure this would be healthier for the economy in the long term. Or do expediency and the European one-rate-suits-all mentality prevail?

P E Bird, Nab Wood Terrace, Shipley.

A short memory

Sir - I am writing in response to A Clarke's letter (T&A August 6). As a mental health nurse, I would like to set him straight on a few points.

Care in the Community was introduced by a Conservative government in order to close mental health hospitals. It was a disaster to start with as they gave no additional funding and slashed bed numbers overnight.

Cookridge Hospital is still set to close as proposed and the unit moved in 2009.

MRSA is not a result of a lack of proper cleaning. It is a result of germs becoming resistant to antibiotics.

Care in the NHS has never been better - shorter waiting times, more nurses, more doctors. Mr Clarke has a very short memory.

A Smith, Glenaire Drive, Baildon.

A hard struggle

Sir - In reply to P Moorhouse regarding horses' safety (T&A August 9), everyone is welcome to their opinion but I think he missed the point.

My letter was advisory to the public and not blaming them for this accident. Had this been a post and rail fence, chances are it would have broken and impaled the horse. Had this been a stone wall it could well have broken the horse's leg resulting in it having to be put down.

Rivendell are responsible for approximately 60 horses, not just one. They have been given to the charity to save them ending up either for human consumption or canned dog food - this is the real world!

All Rivendell volunteers give their time and money to support the horses. Many people give donations to help keep Rivendell solvent but even so it is a hard struggle.

All donations go to the horses' welfare. This includes feed, shelter, medication, vets bills, farriers bills and specialised food subsidies.

Rather than decrying Rivendell wouldn't it have been nicer to help and support us? One day when your horse requires expensive medicines or is too old to work, you may need us!

Trevor Williams-Berry, Bredon Avenue, Wrose.

Full support

SIR - CARE and its members would like to show their full support to Audrey Raistrick (Forum Focused on Pension Power) and your goodselves in the fight against the closure of the Bank Street Post Office in the centre of Bradford.

We in Wyke are fortunate in that, at least for now, our post office is safe from closure, but that does not mean we cannot fully understand and support the worries of those who will be affected by the closure of Bank Street. I do use the Bank Street branch when the occasion demands and I have never yet, in scores of years, managed to be served without queuing. This post office has always been well used, particularly since the one in Forster Square closed.

Many elderly people find it difficult to climb the steep hills leading to the top of Bradford and restrict their shopping to the area around Broadway.

Already much of this shopping area is being demolished, albeit to make way for a better centre in a few years time, which seriously affects those who cannot manage the climb to the top of Bradford.

The result of closure must surely be that many people will travel to outlying townships, like Shipley and Brighouse, rather than come into Bradford.

Mick Stocks (Chair), The Coppies, Delph Hill, Wyke.

Question of profit

Sir - The T&A's well-meaning - but nave - campaign to keep open the Bank Street Post Office fails to answer a simple question: why should a private business keep open a loss-making operation?

Post Office Ltd has enough financial problems without throwing money away by keeping open branches that simply aren't viable.

If the Bradford Chamber of Commerce and Industry are so concerned, their members should create a fund to keep open unprofitable Bank Street.

Paul Thompson, Great Horton, Bradford.

Go by train or bus

Sir - The proposed bus service to Leeds-Bradford Airport, via the Interchange, Forster Square Station, Shipley and Guiseley, will constitute an unnecessary duplication of services (T&A August 5).

A 30-minute train service is already available from Forster Square to Guiseley via Shipley. Metro would be better advised to promote this existing service, so that passenger loadings are increased, rather than misusing public funds to subsidise the proposed bus service.

The bus service would also reduce patronage on the rail service and add to road congestion. Should the airport anticipate a need for the service, it should finance this from its own resources. Furthermore the existing Bradford-to-Harrogate bus service would be better diverted to the airport as could the Otley-Menston-Guiseley service.

Finally Bradford's fortunes will not be enhanced by a bus link between the two stations. Instead a through rail line is required which would allow cross-city services, in turn linking the north of Bradford with the south, placing Bradford on the main network and extending its links with other centres.

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

Family research

Sir - My mother, now 81, would love to find someone who can piece together the life of her late father William (Willie) Mitchell.

She remembers he left home in Lincolnshire when she was six years old and moved to Yorkshire. He died in the Little Horton area but she would love to hear from anyone possibly family as he remarried and had a daughter.

If anyone knows anything of interest please contact Anne on 01476 530220 or me at the address below.

Sybil Meadows, 22 Cringleway, Great Ponton, Grantham, Lincs NG33 5DL