Time to consider lessons from the past

As a local artist who has lived in Ilkley for most of my life, I believe that we must very carefully consider any plans which will change the look of Ilkley. All of us who live here, all of us who work here, and all of our visitors appreciate the visual appeal of the town, of its place in the valley, of its surrounding farmland and its famous moor.

We have all travelled along the approaching road from Burley. We have all looked up to the moor and enjoyed the first glimpse of Cow and Calf Rocks; and enjoyed the green approach to the town.

As a former pupil of Ilkley Grammar School, amongst my studies of human geography were the principles of UK town planning: I don’t recall the whole curriculum, but a basic tenet was to always protect green belt. It is sacrosanct. If at all possible, build elsewhere. Once the green has gone, it is gone forever.

Today I visited our town hall to view the IGS plans. The building is impressive (but I am concerned that it might not be big enough?); the mission statements sound great. But the sprawling site, covering many of the green fields next to Coutances Way – with rugby pitches, tennis courts and outlying classrooms – will change the approach to Ilkley forever. And on enquiring further, I discovered that all of this land is designated green belt.

The ‘new build’ option is one of four options. It undoubtedly is the one which is easiest. No problem in managing ongoing education of the pupils; no problem in a complicated renovation design; and, I suspect, an easier project to find finance for.

All of the other three options would require more imagination; more creative thought; more complicated solutions for build and management. Maybe build on the Coronation Hospital site; maybe site a new sixth form college on Valley Drive; maybe dispense with the school’s swimming pool to gain more space; maybe build on top of ‘K’ block or ‘L’ block. All of these would create more space for pupils on the Cowpasture Road site. All of these would keep the school at the heart of the community (rather than on the town’s perimeter); and I believe that any of them are feasible, given some will and spirit.

I ask all your readers to consider the impact of Option Four, the loss of our green belt, the loss of some beautiful rural views. Since when did we teach our children to take the easier option, no matter what the cost?

Lucia Smith

Grange Estate, Ilkley

We all want a good place in which to live, work and learn

The proposed new site for Ilkley Grammar School should concern everyone living and working in Ilkley, not just Ben Rhydding residents.

Valid as the environmental impact of loss of green belt land and the complete loss of livelihood for Grange Farm and Riding School are, the major fallout that would be felt by all Ilkley residents is the impact on highways with travel to and from, and within the town, severely disrupted. Many who travel to work in the town use the B6382 Wheatley Lane, Bolling Road route which passes the proposed site and has to negotiate the narrowness of Wheatley Lane near to the junction with the A65 and the single lane Ben Rhydding railway bridge, already a bottle-neck at busy times and an extremely difficult manouvre for anyone exiting either the railway car park, Moorflied Road or Cheltenham Avenue. It is estimated that traffic would tail back from the north on to the A65 and from the south along Bolling Road past Ben Rhydding Primary School. Given that at most times of the day the A65 is bottle-necked on the main entrance to Ilkley from the east, access to the town becomes a major highways problem.

Unfortunately, Bradford Council is in a cleft stick. It has put forward the proposed planning application on behalf of Education Bradford but other vouncil departments such as highways are unlikely (in the current economic climate) to be able to fund the massive alterations needed to the town’s traffic flow. As the positioning of traffic lights at the railway bridge are considered not feasible, the only way most students could access the school from the whole of Ilkley and Addingham would be the creation of an underpass or overhead bridge, both of them massive engineering projects with huge budget implications that would have to be passed on by the council to the residents of Ilkley. Added to this, the proposed site would still be split from its playing fields, necessitating more highways work to cross the A65.

It is disingenuous to suggest that the only viable site for the new school is on the Wheatley Lane site. The current site, with the added land shortly to be available, will be able to accommodate increased numbers at both ends of the age range. New-build on that site would incorporate wheelchair access and new environmentally friendly boilers! Pupils, other than those from Menston and Addingham can currently walk to school from either side of Ilkley.

The planning application is 09/03170/OUT. Please study it and respond. Naturally the head and staff of the school want a complete new build and no disruption, but what all residents, parents and pupils are entitled to is a town that is a good place to live, work and learn in, not a fume-filled bottleneck.

Sheila Wright

Paint is still drying on last Grammar School building work

So the powers that be are seriously considering building the Ilkley Grammar School on greenbelt land in Ben Rhydding, and that a public consultation is to take place, where initial plans can be seen, and the electorate can make their suggestions, and feelings on the matter can be debated.

After this, I assume that the same powers that be, will make a decision on the matter.

My only concern is this: Will it be the right one? I raise this concern, as it will probably be the same body that approved the extensive building at the current Grammar School, which cost millions, and the paint is still drying on that one. So I am wondering how the original cost and loss can be justified, and just how long would the new one stand before some unforeseen situation overtakes it?

A G Goldsbrough

Dale Court, Fieldway, Ilkley

Demise of cheque book will lead to death of small shops

Please would you record a big thank you to our newspaper delivery company, C P News, and to their employees, for the wonderful service they have provided through the Christmas winter weather.

A big contrast to our public bodies who, admittedly with a big job on hand, made no effort to cover secondary streets once the major thoroughfares had been done. And apparently made little effort on the central car park. Then our normally friendly postal service abandoned us. Understandable perhaps, but the inefficiency of the telephone service to contact them raises spectres of the future when there are no cheque books and life will revolve around endless automated telephone menus as one tries to make contact with someone somewhere!

Worth lobbying our MP on the cheque book issue; it will cause endless problems for the elderly in particular and contribute to the death of yet more small shops until we all have to shop on the internet.

Thoughts for New Year!

BJ Cussons

Curly Hill, Ilkley

Local heroes who provide an invaluable service

May I, through your pages, congratulate Colin Smith, and indirectly the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, for receiving an MBE for services to local government.

At a time when regard for public service, through the antics of a few MPs, has sunk to an all-time low, it is good to know that our firefighters, police and ambulance services are still so highly regarded.

They provide an invaluable service in keeping us safe in our homes, on the streets, and increasingly in our cars. One shocking statistic that has come out in recent months is that firefighters rescue seven times as many people from wrecked cars as they do from burning buildings.

As some of the more ludicrous 999 calls were made public this week, I’d like to raise a cup o’ kindness to Colin and his team of firefighters across Keighley.

Yours in admiration,

Councillor Nader Fekri

Lib Dem PPC, Keighley and Ilkley

Swimmers risking their health in poor conditions

This morning dawned crisp and cold as I headed for my morning swim at Ilkley Swimming Pool looking forward to seeing the improvements.

A smell of paint greeted me, but what a let-down, the ladies changing rooms – no change there; still dirty tiles, peeling paintwork and, what was worse, freezing cold.

How can the council encourage more swimmers to take to the water and then expect them to change in freezing cold conditions.

Come on Bradford Council – there is absolutely no point in paying for paint whilst swimmers, particularly vulnerable ones, risk their health and possibly their lives changing in these totally unacceptable conditions.

Susan J Wood

Crook Farm, Denton