Letters to the Editor

Mr Davidson appears to be condoning what is, after all, an illegal pursuit by these pupils.

To say that the this was "a group whose social life and school life became slightly blurred at the edges" is tantamount to saying that the school fully accepts the practice of smoking cannabis as long as this takes place outside the school confines.

Presumably if these pupils were smoking the drug in the comfort of their own cars they were also driving those vehicles home under the influence of the drug, as well as putting the health and safety of their fellow pupils at risk while at school.

And just to put Mr Davidson's attitude to this episode into context, he seeks sympathy because it resulted in the basketball team losing a match which they might otherwise have won - presumably because the two suspended players could get higher than any of the others.

Terry Moorhouse, Larch Grove, Oakwood Park, Bingley

SIR - Councillor David Herdson's "explanation" of the split of Neighbourhood Renewal Money in Shipley is misleading, February 26.

He pushes the myth that Shipley East is awash with "millions". The area has just £770,000 of European money that has to last for years. All of this is for jobs and can't be used to tackle other problems. It may sound like a lot but it is peanuts compared to what is needed. The Renewal Funding the area got is also entirely about jobs, while Frizinghall has nothing at all.

The real reason why Shipley East and Frizinghall were ignored is that members of the panel were more interested in squirreling money into their electoral heartlands than they were in addressing problems in the most disadvantaged areas which was what the money was meant for.

Helen Wheeler, Lilac Grove, Shipley.

SIR - I read with interest the comments made by Councillor Tony Miller, in your story and his letter, about the allocation of Neighbourhood Renewal Funding.

As far I can see, his complaint is that the Shipley Area Panel didn't spend all the money in his ward. He knows, even though he wasn't there, that many members of the public had their say at the meeting where the final decisions were made.

I read the bids, listened to what people had to say, and then used my vote to support a range of projects that will benefit people across the whole district from Bingley to Burley and Wrose to Wilsden.

Deprivation is not limited to one postcode. That's why I supported lots of small grants to help local people develop their communities, rather than a few big grants to pay for "Community Development Workers".

If I used my vote unwisely then the people of Bingley will tell me at the ballot box in May. Next year the people of Bingley won't have that opportunity because the Government has decided that NRF money will be allocated by an unelected quango.

To whom will Councillor Miller, or anyone else for that matter, complain ?

Councillor Colin Gill (Conservative, Bingley), Area Panel Member, Crownest Lane, Bingley.

SIR - It ill becomes Councillor Miller to try make political capital out of the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (Letters, February 26).

He asks the panel chairman to "play the game". Could I remind him that the chairman, like Councillor Miller, is just a member of the panel, and did not have cause or means to alter, pick or choose recipients.

The area panel was assisted by others in an advisory role having been given all relevant information and access to all claims etc.

Steve Walsh, Church Street, Bingley.

SIR - May we, through your pages, thank your recent correspondent, Mr Walter Hamilton of Crossflatts who, as a former tenant of one of our properties, very kindly expressed his appreciation of Brunel and Family Housing Association's services (Letters, February 8).

Brunel is a not-for-profit organisation, providing homes for rent across Bradford. We also have properties in Kirklees, Calderdale and Craven and provide homes with care and support for people with disabilities.

If any of your readers are looking for housing or think we may be able to help with other care and support services, we can be contacted on Bradford 826000.

Margaret Street, Chief Executive, Brunel Housing, Walmer Villas, Bradford 8.

SIR - Bob Jowett (Letters, February 22) is correct in stating that incineration of waste can be used to generate energy. He does not, however, tell us that 30 per cent of the waste burned in incinerators remains as toxic ash that contains dioxins and other cancer-causing substances. This too has to be dealt with in some way.

Neither does he tell us that it would cost millions of pounds to build an incinerator in Bradford and for it to be viable, huge amounts of waste would be required to fuel it.

Where would that leave the overriding need to reduce waste in the first place and then reuse and recycle a valuable resource (some local authorities around the world are already recycling and composting as much as 70 per cent of household waste)?

For these reasons the Council's Executive Committee should again vote to ban incineration when they meet on March 12.

From talking to people in Bradford, it is clear that an overwhelming number want district-wide kerbside collections of paper, glass, cans, plastics and textiles for recycling, and kitchen and garden waste for composting. The Council must now have the vision and the ambition to give us these.

Tim Gunhouse (Action For A Sustainable Bradford), Shipley Fields Road, Shipley.

SIR - Aliyah Bashir writes (Letters, February 28) that God created forces such as earthquakes, floods, ghastly diseases and afflictions and unleashes them on mankind for our own good, as a test upon us for survival.

His argument for this is convoluted and irrational. The rational answer is that these are either natural or man-made phenomena and have no supernatural cause.

Our best way of alleviating them is to study their causes scientifically and leave God out of the matter altogether. To turn around the argument of an earlier critic of Peter Wilson's views - the fact that you believe in the existence of God does not mean that he exists!

Robert Tee, Hon. Sec. Leeds & District Humanist Group, Foxholes Crescent, Calverley.

SIR - I was puzzled by your report (February 16) that the new Shipley Wetherspoons is aiming at a "slightly younger" market.

As a pub chain, Wetherspoons manage the tricky feat of combining family-friendly publicity with a ban on everyone under 18.

So does slightly younger mean under 40, or does it mean that parents with children can at last come in from the cold?

Jim Flood, Redburn Drive, Shipley.