A thing of beauty is a joy forever

He has created two beautiful carved oak, individual designed heirloom pieces for our family. They have pride of place with us, and serve their purpose admirably. We are always reminded when we see them, of how fortunate we are to have a high calibre craftsman such as Brent within our own community.

Because skilled cabinet makers are becoming increasingly scarce, he could be described as a modern-day endangered species; not only for that reason but also for his modesty and the joy he finds in his life’s work – a rarity indeed – a truly happy man.

As my mother used to say: “A thing of beauty is a joy forever”. Here’s to you Brent and your work.

Rosemary Oxley

Endor Crescent, Burley-in-Wharfedale

Tesco appeals – think ahead and help save our town

So Tesco are going to do what they do so often – ride roughshod over the views of yet another neighbourhood they wish to dominate.

They themselves know they must destroy the rights of cars owners in Mayfield Road, Ilkley, and while they may offer something in return no one can guarantee the length of that commitment or whether the use by their own customers would change any offer they might make.

We should also spare a thought for the residents of Nile, Wellington, Golden Butts, Wilmot, Mornington, Brewery, Little Lane and Railway roads. Every single car-owner will be penalised and there will be a knock-on effect on other adjoining streets. I do urge residents to study Ilkley’s traffic in the coming weeks before their last chance to object is gone. If you do not use Bolling Road and down under BR Railway Bridge, if you do not use Railway Road nor Little Lane please do so in the next few weeks and estimate what will happen should there be a large superstore on Mayfield Avenue.

Then, whatever traffic measure is planned at the top of Brook Street it could not possibly work. The resulting log jam from Cowpasture Road, Springs Lane, Wells Walk, The Grove and Brook Street itself will be endless. And, of course, whatever traffic measure is allowed, the pedestrians should not be surprised to have the pedestrian crossing moved further down Brook Street causing yet more inconvenience to them.

Should Tesco win this appeal – and independeent justice is fast disappearing in this country – then a few weeks of ‘special offers’ will be enough to destroy many of our local shops who make Ilkley what it is. Then what will Tesco offer?

Please think ahead and help save our town.

B J Cussons

Curly Hill, Middleton, Ilkley

Consistency in speed limits makes it easier to conform

It is apparent that many of the issues regarding a new Tesco store, hospital and a new site for the Grammar School are based on concerns about traffic and pedestrian safety; indeed, their current sites pose similar problems now.

Cowpasture Road, Station Road, Wheatley Road, Bolling Road and Springs Lane have borne the brunt of this traffic for many years.

Springs Lane in particular, which is the main thoroughfare to the Coronation Hospital, the health centre and pharmacy, flats for the elderly, Tesco and the grammar school, probably carries more pedestrians than any other area of Ilkley. The pavements here are very narrow and the entrance to Tesco is difficult to negotiate. Many children travel this path four times a day.

In order to ameliorate this problem and to conform to other areas of Wharfedale – Addingham, Burley and Menston – our road safety committee has proposed that 20mph zones be placed around all our schools in due course. Ilkley Parish Council voted unanimously in favour of this proposal. Both have written to Bradford Metropolitan Council requesting that such measures be put in place as soon as possible. All our local headteachers are in full support.

Drivers expect consistency – when all schools are within 20mph zones/limits, as in Scotland and most other areas in this country, it will be easier for drivers to conform. We now recognise the value of seat belts to car users, 20mph zones are of equal value to pedestrians and other road users.

Barbara Davy

Parklands, Ilkley

Support for chairman’s switch to Independent

As a non-party elector living in Alan Morrell’s ward (West Ward), I welcome his move to Independent on the Parish Council. Having a PC that is virtually one-party is nowhere near being democratic. That would be true, whichever party was in control. Moreover; a virtual one-party PC which has a district party chief whip sitting in on official meetings, and private political group meetings, is light years from being democratic.

Whether there as a parish councillor, or as an ‘observer’; a chief whip is still a chief whip. The job of a chief whip is to see that individual party-members toe the party-line. In this case, it is the line drawn by Kris Hopkins and the Bradford District executive. They are all of the same political party.

To say it again: It does not matter which one party is involved.

Alan Morrell suggests that the majority of Ilkley people are not wealthy. He is right. Also, wealthy or not, they are not all of the same mind about what should or should not be done about turning Ilkley into a built-up clone of Bradford.

Edwin Schirn

Ilkley

Just when we thought it was safe to go back in the water

Just when we thought that it was safe to go back into the water, the monster that is Tesco’s superstore looms back over the horizon and once more casts its miserable shadow over Ilkley. (Please pardon my mixed metaphors.) And once again the good and hard working people of Ilkley will have to gird their loins and fight to preserve this lovely and unique town from the inevitable despoilation that would result.

Just what will it take to put a permanent end to the matter; or have we got to get used to this unwelcome intrusion on a regular basis?

Jon Ingram, Wells Walk, Ilkley

Time for Dundas to put up or shut up

I can taste the sour grapes from here, and in that respect I am referring to the letter by Andrew Dundas, (Ilkley Gazette, February 18).

We are all aware that he has been pushing for ward changes for some time, and has gone down the recognised routes to achieve his ends. However, this route has not got him what he wants, and is claiming unfair practice. He has made this claim previously, and at that time I said That if he was so sure about this, he should approach the appropriate organisation and make his complaint.

I also said that, should he fail to do this, then we could all draw our own conclusions. He has failed to do this, therefore his claims of unfairness are quite bogus. So the time has now come for him to put up, or shut up.

A G Goldsbrough

Dale Court, Fieldway, Ilkley

Is your life blighted by too much light at night?

Are your readers' lives blighted by too much light at night? The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and the British Astronomical Association’s Campaign for Dark Skies are running a survey to find out how people are affected by light pollution, and where it is coming from. We’re hoping to gather evidence to support our campaign to rein in excessive lighting, which is also a huge waste of energy and money. At the moment, there is no requirement for the effects to be considered before new lighting schemes are put in place. The unrestricted spread of light can cause a variety of problems, an often-reported one is that people can find it difficult to sleep due to light spilling into their bedrooms or the glare from nearby domestic security lights. People often do not know where to turn to resolve the problem and so suffer in silence.

We would really like to hear from any of your readers who are affected by light pollution. This is a great opportunity for people to speak up about this issue and help us take their voices directly to the Government.

The link to our survey is oncpre.org.uk and it closes on Friday, February 12.

Shaun Spiers

Chief Executive, Campaign to Protect Rural England

Campaign to stop children being locked up

I am writing to ask you, your readers and our MPs to back the OutCry! campaign, a partnership between The Children’s Society and Bail for Immigration Detainees, which is demanding an end to the immigration detention of children (join the campaign at outcrycampaign.org.uk).

Every year, the UK immigration system locks up around 1,000 children. They have often fled countries where they experienced violence, war and discrimination. The children have committed no crime and are hidden from society. The effects are terrible. Many experience depression, weight loss, bed-wetting and even self-harm. This may be happening to children in our local community and I believe this is immoral and unacceptable.

Residents of our community cannot ignore this issue – it could be a child who lives on our streets, attends our local schools who is detained next.

Helen Kemp

Coach Road, Baildon