SIR – With regard to the proposed closure of swimming pools across Bradford District, may I say how short-sighted this is?

With obesity and poor fitness on the rise, how can Bradford Council even contemplate such a thing? On the one hand we have central government promising free swimming for the over-60s, and on the other we have our own council possibly closing pools! Is there no sort of communication between these bodies?

Just as people would rather attend small, local hospitals for their treatment, so they prefer the local, friendly pool to the huge, centralised facility. The elderly and those with children cannot travel as well as the rest of us and will effectively suffer discrimination. More car use will be needed.

There will be fewer swimmers as those from outlying districts give up their leisure activity.

Bradford Council should be encouraging the population to become more active. The fitter a person is, the less likely they are to need health care.

Keep an elderly person on the go with exercise and regular company at the local pool and they are less prone to mental and physical ailments – they’ll also not need the expensive option of social care.

To degrade the argument to one of cost, it’s cheaper to keep people fit than it is to close the facilities they use at a local level.

Mrs Cathy McKay, Bailey Hills Road, Bingley