Cowling is in Craven - not Bradford

It is very kind of Bradford Council to send us their "Community Pride" newsletter and I do, in fact, read it - however Cowling is in Craven district and not Bradford.

I have complained two or three times already about this total waste of money and do wonder how many other Craven villages receive it, as we are all BD postcodes. I was told this was the fault of the local "sorting office" - surely then Bradford Council should be asking them to "sort" this confusion.

The Bradford site states that approximately 197,000 newsletters are sent out - does this number include us in Craven? I do hope that North Yorkshire is not sending its newsletters out to the Bradford Council district?

Joan Tindale, Pinnacle View, Cowling

Geoff Podmore, editor of Community Pride replies - Mrs Tindale receives Community Pride because she lives in a postcode area, BD22 0, where the majority of properties are in the Bradford district.

It is cheaper for us to use the Royal Mail's commercial Door to Door Service, delivered by the postman, rather than to post out copies individually to only the addresses in the Bradford district.

This is making the best use of council taxpayers' money while maintaining the council's commitment to deliver Community Pride to every household in the district.

I am delighted that Mrs Tindale enjoys the publication.

I would ask everyone to recycle their copy of Community Pride when they have read it.

Forgotten Castle grounds I was interested to read about the work on the £2 million project for Church Green area but what about Cliffe Castle grounds. Have they been forgotten?

As it was a pleasant day last Wednesday, I decided to take my 94-year-old mother for a walk around the grounds in her wheelchair, which I did with great difficulty, as most of the paths were in desperate need of repair.

Surely, as this site was a gift to Keighley which many adults and children come to visit, could Bradford Council help to maintain this beautiful asset as soon as possible to the standard which Lister Park is kept to benefit all visitors.

Mrs S Eastwood Hill Clough Grove, Laycock, Keighley

Rant was out of touch

I am normally quite happy to ignore Keith Dredge's annual pre-election rants in the Keighley News and generally look forward to them.

However, last week's ramble was so out of touch and so far from the truth that the record had to be corrected.

Contrary to what he says, the Labour group on Bradford Council did indeed oppose the £100,000 per ward investment fund which was carried solely by Conservative and Liberal Democrat votes.

The Labour amendment - which was defeated - made no mention of doubling this amount.

As for the money received from the sale of Leeds-Bradford Airport, my colleagues and I made clear right from the outset that this was one-off funding that we did not intend to waste.

As a result, we have agreed to spend the money strategically on the council's key priorities, including special schools, transport, skills improvement and better leisure facilities across the district.

Unlike Mr Dredge and his Labour friends, I have to take real decisions affecting real people rather than play fantasy politics from the comfort of my armchair.

Cllr Kris Hopkins (Conservative, Worth Valley) Leader of Bradford Council

Smoking correction

You do me a serious disservice in placing my reference to Nazis in quotes - I used the word to refer to that political party which misruled Germany from 1933-1945.

The application of quotes suggests that I am making a disparaging and cheap jibe at some other organisation or persons. This is not the case and I must ask you to correct this.

The background to this is that the Nazi Party is said to have pioneered the idea of "passivrauchen" in pre-war Germany as part of its campaign against smoking - this seems to be fairly well documented - certainly sufficiently well for me to refer to it.

I am very concerned that your edit will lead readers to believe that it was my intention to insult the promoters of the current regime by name calling.

As I believe firmly in the right of my case and the rectitude of its prosecution I would not seek to lower myself or my opponents in this way.

George Speller Hill Top Road, Keighley

Editor's note. I apologise to Mr Speller and am happy to put the record straight. Get behind town council

David MacKay's Letter to the KN last week about Keighley Town Council's precept seemed remarkably similar to one he had published last year and the figure he quoted was one that was widely speculated on in 2007.

The council's finance chairman, Cllr Philip, tells me the figure as reported by Mr MacKay was one that has not been discussed at all this year. So either he made it up, re-sent the same letter or was fed duff information.

I also recall Mr MacKay urging the town council to take over the funding of the Bradford Met town centre wardens, which would have more then doubled the local precept. Hardly the call for restraint which he now advocates. As it turns out, the whole precept will amount to little more then 20p per week for most Keighley precept payers.

Cllr Philip told the council, 70 per cent of the rise (just about all of that above the inflation rate) is attributable to the town council's commitment to the regeneration of Church Green and the promise of funds ensure that this old centre of Keighley is regenerated and becomes part of the heart of the town. All but three of the town councillors voted for this budget which will take Keighley forward.

I'm not a great one for conspiracy theories and I get a little suspicious when leading lights in the Conservative Party, such as Mr Mackay, beat a path to the letter box of the KN to publish negative letters about an institution which has done more for ordinary Keighley folk than any other in recent years.

Does Dorothy Clamp's criticism of Keighley council or Cllr Simon Cooke's totally inappropriate criticism over the parish charter amount to a campaign?

I doubt it, but when you add Cllr Chris Greaves denial of the town council's statutory rights representation at planning meetings, or the constant moving of the area committee's dates to clash with the town council's meetings, or even the decision by Worth Valley Ward councillors Hill, Hopkins and Miller to give £10,000 to the parish councils of Oxenhope and Haworth to spend in their areas but not an equal amount for the town council to spend in Oakworth, then this surely amounts to discrimination. It's about time that some of those in control of the district and their supporters got behind the town council and tried working with it instead of being destructive. It seems only the town council is working to move the fortunes of Keighley forward.

Cllr Tony Wright Woodhouse and Hainworth Ward.

Precept rise is obscene

May I apologise to all who voted for me for Keighley Town Council for its obscene precept rise of 15 per cent.

Many councillors suggested that it works out as coppers on the bill but this is not the issue. District councils, ie, Bradford, are capped at around 5 per cent, wage settlements in many cases are below the level of inflation and both food and fuel prices are rising.

This council gives money over to many organisations in the town but in doing so fails to remember the taxpayer, many who have difficulties making ends meet. The town meeting is in March and I hope that many townspeople will attend and hold KTC to account, remember it's your money.

R P Beale Parish Councillor Hainworth & Woodhouse

No room for senior citizens

How is it that a rapidly expanding town like Silsden has no meeting place for senior citizens?

Their centre in Wesley Place was recently closed down, ostensibly because the building was declared unsafe, and yet another group under the auspices of Bradford Council is now using it.

Could they not meet in the Town Hall or has it priced itself out of the market? Note that other groups, such as the Civic Society have moved to the Methodist Church because of this. May we have a subsidised room in the Town Hall, since we all pay our community charge? Or is this too much to ask?

Mrs B M Corbishley