SIR - The one thing that sticks out like a sore thumb about the proposed 5 Rise shopping centre in Bingley is that the developers have not addressed the needs of Bingley people in so far as increasing the number of shops in the precinct.

Bingley needs more shops and less flats. One has only to look around the area to see how many sites there are with flats available to rent because they cannot sell them.

Also, in their plans for 86 flats they have not put one solid validation for them regarding tenant parking.

They are keen to show how close the existing overcrowded car parks are, but not put forward any extra parking facilities for the occupants of the flats.

Many people will have come across the situation where they have to drive around town twice or three times to get a parking space.

They could do away with the 31 apartments on the first floor and create more shops on that level, with a quality balustrade around the area .

This would still leave 55 flats and if they sold them for as little as £120,000 each, they would still make a good return on their investment and Bingley a decent quality shopping precinct.

Stanley R Wrather, Beacon Close, Gilstead Park, Bingley

  • SIR - While, like all residents of the Bingley area, I welcome the development proposed to replace the present Myrtle Walk, I - like many of them - would criticise the design for its lack of empathy with Bingley's existing architecture.

Perhaps the architects got carried away with the Bradford & Bingley building opposite, which was the first - and hopefully the last - out-of-character structure to be built in the town centre.

A previous correspondent described the new development as "battenburg cake" and, indeed, its multi-faced multi-coloured cladding does give that impression.

Perhaps a little more use of real or imitation Yorkshire stone to get rid of the chessboard effect might go some way to making an improvement.

One of the remaining problems however, is the rest of the site. The inset in your recent article (T&A, November 23) showing Myrtle Walk as it is now', is, unfortunately showing a part of Myrtle Walk as it will continue to be' if we are to believe the complete architect's impression.

The existing two-storey structure is at present distinguished by a remarkable system of cladding around the windows, which appears to consist of sheets of heavyweight black tarpaulin, much of which is peeling away.

I hope something can be done about that, otherwise whatever will be built next to it will be rather tainted.

Gordon Dean, Long Lee, Harden