Letters to the editor

Following the article by Olwen Vasey (T&A, February 2), I am of the opinion that I don't wish to have my Council Tax, income tax, Value Added Tax or any other form of local or national funding to be used to bring them up to a national standard.

The need to improve the quality of these roads is no doubt necessary for the quality of life of those residents, but why expect everyone to pay for something that that the residents will benefit from not only in the quality of life but (according to the figures published in your paper) by an increase in the value of their properties by approximately £2,500?

The term used in your newspaper regarding the legal requirements of the council is "not legally obliged to make up".

Surely the term is the other way round. The Council are not allowed to make up unadopted roads from local coffers, but must charge the cost to the residents proportional to the "frontage".

Harvey Bell, Wibsey Park Avenue, Wibsey.

SIR - The felling of yet one more area of mature trees along the proposed route of the Bingley Relief Road has given many people in Airedale a shock.

Now we can begin to picture the swathe the road is going to cut down the valley. What we are losing is irreplaceable; what we are likely to receive is unjustifiable.

The road lobby and its supporters made sure that it has been difficult to see just what the impact one 5km stretch of the road will have on the environment. In fact the Government has actually refused to conduct a proper environmental impact assessment, as required by European law and civilised standards.

In other words our Government intends to break the law and award contracts this month without any clear idea of the consequences for the environment and the people of the Aire Valley.

Professor Butler (T&A, Feb 1) was right in calling for a proper assessment first.

David Bateman, Hospital Road, Riddlesden.SIR - Traffic noise has a significant effect not only on health (T&A January 29), but also on the value of property.

In 1998 the Highways Agency published a document of assessment on the effects of the so-called Bingley "relief" road. This included an increase in noise for a significant number of properties nearer to the new route. A figure of 515 was clearly quoted.

Some properties qualify for sound insulation work during construction of the road. This is most likely in the Ferncliffe Road, Crossley Wood, Cottingley Bar and Crossflatts areas.

Property depreciation from noise, fumes, vibration, dirt, light, smell and other physical factors is linked to the use of the road. Unfortunately claims for property depreciation can only be addressed 12 months and one day after the road opens.

Penny Ward (secretary, Aire Valley Conservation Society), Ghyllwood Drive, Bingley.

SIR - I read with interest your front page headline on February 1 regarding the proposed takeover of Abbey National by Lloyds TSB bank, and the hand-wringing of our local MPs.

Yet these same MPs, along with local councillors, are likely to have voted for the farming-out to private sources of our own Council-run education provisions.

This has been done without due concern to the Council's own members of staff, with the probable loss of benefits which many of these people have accrued through their years of loyalty, dedication and service being one of the consequences.

The main detriment has been the loss of their pension rights and any other rights they may have built up through their employment, ie holiday and sick pay.

I feel sure that I speak on behalf of my friends and colleagues in feeling that once again our city fathers have no real concept of Bradford.

M A Bakes, Welbeck Drive, Bradford 7.

SIR - Re " £500,000 bill for Bulls move". Are the public really expected to swallow the spending of this inordinate amount of our money on a privately-owned enterprise?

Do the Council not have an obligation, legal or moral, to every citizen of Bradford, to provide health and leisure facilities?

The "village" of Thornton hosts a population of almost 10,000, a large number of voters and rate-payers. We are asking for less than £75 per person in order to preserve our local swimming baths.

I personally do not follow either rugby or football and have no wish to see my council tax being spent on relocating a handful of men who wish to kick a ball around a field. I, and many like-minded people, would prefer my hard-earned money to be of benefit locally.

If councillors will tell me how much of my rates are paid towards the leisure and recreation budget, I will happily pay that amount directly into a "save our baths" account instead of to the council. Let those who support Bradford Bulls pay into a "relocate the Bulls" account, etc. Perhaps then councillors would heed the voice of the people.

Catherine M Close, Springhead Terrace, Thornton.

SIR - While the shows at St George's Hall are very good and the building historical, why oh why cannot someone replace the horrible, dirty curtains on the front of the building, first floor? I don't think they would stand a wash.

Strangers to the city could be quite put off, thinking the seats were in the same condition.

Surely someone in authority could go and have a look at them. White curtains would look much better.

Mrs J Robinson, Leafield Avenue, Eccleshill.

SIR - The recent job losses at British Steel/Corus, sad and shocking as they are for the workers concerned, deserve better than a Government that wrings its hands and complains about not being told what was happening. Doesn't anybody in the DTI read the papers?

Of course the unions, and others, trot out the standard cry, "It wouldn't have happened if we'd joined the euro". What planet are these people on?

Yes, the competitive position of some British manufacturers has been undermined by the weakness of the euro, but the issue is the exchange rate, not whether we should have joined or not.

If we had joined at the start, British industry would have been locked into an uncompetitive exchange rate, and it is criminal to talk about the Government, or anybody else, talking the pound down to what some might consider to be the right rate.

Anybody agree on what that might be? I thought not.

But these people seem blithely ignorant of the consequences of such an approach, and its effect on the rest of the British economy.

We hear the same old nonsense about most of our exports going to Europe. Not true. The rest of the world is much more important.

Alan Carcas, Cornmill Lane, Liversedge,SIR - Credit card fraud is big business which knows no social boundaries. One of the main problems is people using lost or stolen cards in-store to get goods which can be easily sold on to make instant cash with no questions asked.

There is one bank which imprints the owner's photograph on the card, making it easy to check on the person presenting it. I would have thought this was an ideal deterrent and if all banks used this system, it would help to stop a large part of this type of fraud!

Trevor Williams-Berry, Bredon Avenue, Wrose.

SIR - Re the controversy about fox hunting, which is a very cruel sport.

What about the poor horses and goats that are tethered up on Baildon Green, on only short chains, in freezing conditions, without food or water, and have to try and forage for food through the frozen grass?

What is to be done about the plight of these poor animals?

Sue Lynch, Bingley Road, Lees Moor, Keighley. SIR - I note Councillor Cooke's pledge to the Keighley Market traders and his guarantee that there will be no drop in trade if the market is moved to the Keighley Parish Church car park.

Unfortunately, it was proven 14 years ago when the Keighley Market was temporarily moved to the now-proposed site that there was a disastrous drop in trade with many businesses failing. These traders have been there once and they do not wish to be there again.

The shopping line is Bus Station/Airedale Centre/Marks and Spencer/Market/Morrison. Why deviate? In which traditional town centre is it the norm to have a supermarket frontage on to a main shopping street opposite a Marks and Spencer store?

From their cushioned existence, the blinkered Council only see the carrot of a new market hall funded by Morrisons, which would help towards their massive debts and would relieve them of the responsibility of a well-overdue renovation of the market on its current site.

Let the Keighley Market stay where it is, let the traders do their jobs and renovate the market from all the money in rent, rates and service charges which the Council have collected all these years.

Bas and Dorothy Priestley, High Royd, Utley. SIR - I refer to hostile comments made by estate residents (T&A, February 1) and others about asylum seekers.

These people are here because of the Government's dispersal policy, to avoid overcrowding in any one region.

They have to take what they are given and are not responsible for any conditions of the houses.

They are not allowed to work for six months, receive £10 cash weekly and food vouchers to be spent only at certain stores and no change given, so they are stigmatised and stand out as being different.

A study by the homeless charity Shelter exploded the myth that the asylum seekers are given the best housing. It found squalor, 19 per cent had cockroaches, fleas and bugs, 28 per cent were overcrowded.

We produce refugees! How? We export armaments to repressive regimes who terrorise their population giving them the option of run or be killed or tortured.

These people are vulnerable, some are desperate, have nothing on arrival and should be treated humanely.

Bernard Whittaker, Scott Lane West, Riddlesden.

SIR - Anyone who read your article, "The Price of Peace and Quiet" which referred to the plans of the Highways Agency (HA) to soundproof houses in the immediate vicinity of the Bingley relief road, should be under no illusion that for every house insulated, many more in need of sound proofing will certainly remain unaltered.

How are we, the residents of Bingley, expected to silence the road noise when we need to open our windows, especially in the summer months, and breathe "fresh air"?

Which are the 515 houses eligible for soundproofing? Are each of us to be informed directly by the HA?

When will the soundproofing be undertaken - before or after we've had to endure all the construction noise?

I notice that Bingley councillors and the HA have been particularly vague in addressing such matters. It's time these issues were clarified. Chris Leslie, and our local councillors, must respond to the fears and concerns of the local residents if they hope to be re-elected.

Peter Kirton, Queensway, Bingley.

SIR - I would be very wary of accepting Stephen Kershaw's innocent explanation of a brass monkey's reaction to very cold weather (T&A Letters Feb 1) rather than Sid Brown's.

Many years ago I was a temporary assistant to the Excise Officer in charge at the Glenlivet Distillery in Speyside. One of my duties was to calculate the number of gallons held in casks lined up for filling with new whisky.

The result was stencilled on the head and at the end of the session the cooper read back the details to check for errors.

Whenever he came to a cask holding 111 gallons, he called out "Nelson" and "Half Nelson" for those with 55 gallons.

In my innocence I asked what he meant and he gently explained his joke.

He added that in view of the large number of visitors, he had a modified version to use when ladies were present.

He told them that he used Nelson instead of 111 because the admiral had only one arm, one eye and one love!

Brian Holmans, Langley Road, Bingley.

SIR - Re Mike Priestley's article in North of Watford (February 3) on the senseless use of mobile phones.

In 1962/63 I was a signalman in the Royal Signals based at Catterick, on a telegraph operators' course.

We used the old 32 sets for training and one day the NCO instructor told me to pick up a 100-watt light bulb and hold it up to the aerial while he went to "send". Three feet away from the aerial it started to glow, a foot away it was fully lit!!

I know mobile phones don't make a large voltage, but some radiation must come when on transmit, and right in the user's ear.

In the light of this fact (sorry, no pun intended) surely the medical profession and manufacturers must be made to prove that mobiles are harmless. All I've read is a load of twaddle and no facts.

A Jamieson, Arthur Avenue, Lower Grange, Bradford.SIR - Your feature (T&A, February 1) on the success of a scheme to deter theft on petrol station forecourts (stealing petrol, shop goods, and credit card fraud) is really a comment on the average thief, but there is a more subtle aspect of criminality, one that is seemingly impossible to curtail.

I refer to motorists driving off quite unconcerned after damaging someone else's vehicle in car parks.

My car was damaged recently in this way, leaving me with a hefty bill. Apparently this is a widespread problem.

The perpetrators are not the usual criminals, but people who would never dream of shoplifting, stealing petrol, or housebreaking. They are some of the everyday people that pass you by seemingly quite respectable. Yes, that's right - Joe Public.

These apparently nice people clearly have double standards when it comes to owning up to the surreptitious shunt. Wrongdoers come in many disguises, don't they?

R J Lacey, Wrose Road, Bradford.

SIR - As an ex-RAF flying instructor in the last war, I had to have a little smile at the recent events at Yeadon Airport.

First we had the pupil who, on his first solo, did a bouncing landing and pranged his aircraft. Then there was a pupil raising his wheels before take-off - another prang!

As these things often come in threes, could we now have some bright spark come to land with his wheels up!? I have seen that caper more than once.

To me, instructing was much more stressful than operational flying.

J C Jones, Premiere Park, Ilkley.

SIR - I would like to express my thanks and appreciation to all the people of Bradford who have written in to say how much they enjoyed the Millennium Eve concert by the Bradford Chamber Orchestra, which was conducted by myself.

As the producer as well as conductor, I really appreciate the praise and support, and would like to say that it was a great chance for me to work with Bradford Council in putting on the concert to celebrate the Millennium, which was free to members of the public, with music which was accessible to everyone.

The concert also offered an opportunity to members of Bradford's flourishing theatre school, Stage 84, to sing with a full orchestra and, together with the young people in the audience, be introduced to classical music, in a thrilling experience.

The letters were proof that the whole event was enormously successful and I hope that Bradford Council will offer me another opportunity in the near future, to organise a further concert to celebrate in Bradford.

Rino Grice, Main Street, Wilsden.

SIR - Help, help, help! During the late 1950s and early 1960s, I used to deliver lorry loads of carrots to Bradford wholesale fruit and veg market. One company that I remember was Swithenbanks.

Since retiring at the age of 65 in 1992, I have published four small local history books.

However, I doubt if I can manage the fifth unless a T&A reader can lend me a few photos of the market to copy, and perhaps a few memories. Names of streets, anything, would help.

By the way, the vegetables I delivered came from Cambridgeshire.

Can someone please help an old man record his memories?

Harold Shelton, 38 Jubilee Avenue, Warboys, Huntingdon, Cambs PE28 2RT.

SIR - I know it is bad in India but how can our councillors send them £10,000 in aid when flood victims in Bradford are in dire need of help?

Also we are told that money to put things right on flood damage will be met by ratepayers.

The Government has given millions to India already so why should our councillors donate money that does not belong to them?

J R Smith, Flawith Drive, Fagley. SIR - On behalf of an American lady I met in Austria last year, I would ask if anyone knows the name of David Priestley born around 1850 who went to America between birth and marriage circa 1875.

I appreciate that David Priestley is not an unusual name but someone may recognise this from their family tree. David married Aguste Julia Rohde, an American of German descent, and they had four, possibly five children: Ann Josephine, Amelia Wilhelmina, Albert, Augusta and possibly Charles.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mrs B M Ellen, 118 New Road Side, Horsforth, Leeds, LS18 4QB. Fax 0113 258 2540, 9.30am to 5pm.

SIR - With reference to Helen Mead's question in "No Frills" on Thursday, February 1 about the obsession with doing people down. Will she now practise what she preaches and stop running down that poor husband of hers?

Denise Musk, Fernbank Drive, Baildon.

SIR - Doubtless cycle retailers would be dismayed at the letter from F Lever of Wetherby (T&A, February 2) on bells as law, losing them the choice of horns as alternative sales items.

These are often more effective for hard of hearing and don't rust so easily.

G Steff, Wharncliffe Road, Shipley.

SIR - My husband and I would like to thank the Telegraph & Argus staff for a wonderful meal at the Hare and Hounds in Toller Lane. We won this meal in one of your competitions.

This was our first success but we will continue to enter your competitions in the hope of being successful again.

Mrs A Marsh, Sunningdale, Bradford 8.SIR - In response to Trevor Willams-Berry's letter about the poor quality of video tapes (February 3), your correspondent is right to raise the issue about the clarity of pictures from CCTV footage.

West Yorkshire Police has recently purchased the most advanced image enhancement equipment, which will enable technicians to improve images.

The quality of static CCTV images can vary but these can be improved by ensuring the cameras are sited in the best possible location. The police also offer the following advice:

Users should make sure their CCTV is switched on at all times. Quite often police officers attend crimes to find equipment has not been switched on.

A good-quality tape should be used for every day and rotated on a weekly basis.

After three months, tapes should be destroyed and replaced - a worn video tape records a poor image which cannot be enhanced. A video recorder operating 24 hours a day needs to be serviced at least twice a year and the recording heads cleaned every three months.

If these simple rules are followed, better-quality images will be captured without the need for enhancement and hopefully speed up the justice process.

DI Christopher Binns, acting crime manager, Bradford Central CID.