The evidence is incontrovertible - no-one can seriously dispute that climate change is happening. The only debate is whether the dramatic changes we are seeing around us are simply cyclical or the result of the damage we are doing.

But that debate itself is actually a red herring, according to West Yorkshire weather expert Paul Hudson, who is attempting to drive home the point that almost the whole of the scientific community now has no doubt that global warming is a reality. He is arguing very forcefully that scientists are almost unanimous on this issue and that it is only a tiny minority who will not accept the evidence before them.

There is a very real fear now that we will soon be approaching the point of no return, and that unless action is taken urgently we will be locked into an ultimately devastating cycle. It is clear we can no longer afford to be complacent about this issue which ultimately threatens the very existence of life on our planet. We must all act now in whatever small ways we can to cut down on our use of energy. And we must all lobby to make climate change a top priority with governments around the world.

BEFORE planning permission was finally granted, opposition to the 541-home redevelopment of High Royds in Menston was widespread. People in the village and neighbouring communities like Guiseley had plenty of concerns about such a large housing scheme being created off the increasingly congested A65 corridor.

But even those against the plans seemed to accept that the Raven Group, with its track record of carrying out conversions of listed buildings, could be trusted to honour its commitments and deliver a quality package.

The company had also gone out of its way to try to meet the worries of the community. Now there has been a last-minute change of ownership, with Raven selling its stake in the scheme to Gladedale PLC (which now owns the firm Raven teamed up with on High Royds, Country & Metropolitan Homes).

Perhaps the work will progress exactly as planned, as the new owners insist, but they will have to quickly demonstrate their credentials if they are to win back public confidence in the scheme.