Trail issue has become a 'Shibboleth'

2:59pm Thursday 24th April 2008

EVEN without its religious significance, the Bible is a wonderful resource. From it we get such useful words like Shibboleth'. Its origin lies in a battle long ago where one set of Biblical tribes was smiting another, quite a common occurrence in those days - also in these, come to think of it.

MP tackles issues others are afraid to touch

10:23am Thursday 3rd April 2008

WHATEVER else Ilkley's current MP will be remembered for when she finally relinquishes her seat in the House of Commons, it is her courage to deal with issues everyone else was afraid to tackle, that will be uppermost in people's memories.

Definitive promises on school places are needed

12:37pm Thursday 27th March 2008

Before any permanent solution to the problem of available school places at Ilkley Grammar is found, it will be necessary to try to establish what is going on in the minds of education officials. Parish councillors have been pondering the issue for a long time, certainly 12 months before the morning a few short weeks ago when some Addingham parents almost choked on their cornflakes.

The 'nitty gritty' of weathering those winter conditions

2:56pm Thursday 17th January 2008

OVER the last few years it seems that British winters are notable for their excessive rainfall and mild temperatures rather than freezing conditions and heavy snow.

A trail of misery for the parish council

9:47am Thursday 10th January 2008

THE resignation of Gordon Campbell from the Wharfedale Trail Forum highlights the unenviable position of Addingham Parish Council during the whole saga of the Sustrans project. The debate over the issue has struggled to rise from the low point it achieved early on when nasty, dishonest and cowardly comments were scattered all over the Wharfedale newspapers' website which was set up in good faith for people to air their views honestly and legitimately.

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The growing threat to the Green Belt

9:37am Thursday 3rd January 2008

IT is difficult not to have some sympathy with Bradford planners over the seemingly outrageous figures for future housing provision imposed by the Government.

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Rights of Way Act has made little impact

8:19am Thursday 27th December 2007

THE sentiment behind the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CROW) may have sounded very crusading and egalitarian but as is often the case, the reality is not so impressive.

Councillor's brave decision to go public

11:16am Thursday 20th December 2007

IN the vast majority of instances, asking a politician if they would like to appear in the local newspaper is like asking the late George Best if he fancied a beer.

Shabby treatment from the paper shufflers

1:26pm Thursday 13th December 2007

THE Bradford and Airedale Primary Care Trust official called before councillors to explain his organisation's fiasco over the Coronation Hospital admitted it was a scrappy' piece of work. It could be suggested that shabby' was the more appropriate description of the behaviour of officials over the last 20 years with regard to the Coronation. The Coronation - however close to the heart of Ilkley residents - can been seen as nothing more that one symptom of a deeper malaise affecting the health service.

Is public transport viewed as a last resort?

5:12pm Thursday 6th December 2007

LIKE many green' initiatives, ensuring developers use some of their profits to provide a bus service on a new housing estates, seems like a great idea. Since the deregulation of bus services in the 1980s, many routes have been slashed because of the lack of a profit margin for operators.

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