SIR, - Yet further traffic concerns are being expressed as more and more people volunteer their support and views against a major supermarket development off Little Lane/Mayfield Road.

This time it relates to the access/egress at West Street to and from the central Car Park.

The additional number of cars which will be generated in Brook Street by the many flat developments still going on, together with the many recently completed, are as much as Brook Street can take. The changing patterns outlined in previous weeks due to the posssible supermarket re-siting will be the last straw.

Cars will be 'locked' into the car park for undue lengthy periods. Gradually visitors to Ilkley who support the economy at present will lose heart and stay away; residents will, glumly, have to put up with lengthy delays and Brook Street will be jammed in each direction. Any traffic proposals to try and counter this will create problems in other areas.

Those of us who fought hard in 1981 to stop a supermarket being put on the central car park are thankful that the proposal was - after a long struggle - defeated.

There, too, a one-shop town would have been the outcome as more and more surrounding shops would have been forced to close for either trade or car parking reasons.

At the time there was significant evidence of political pressure as the controlling party of the day were in close liaison with the applicant and, indeed, owned the site of the application.

It was therefore the actions of the people of Ilkley, who patently recognised the dangers, and were prepared to speak and act against it which saved the day.

At that time the applicant apparently needed 76 deliveries per week in vehicles averaging 24/25 ft. to serve a much smaller square footage than is proposed for Mayfield Road. Twenty-six years later many delivery vehicles are 38 ft. long, but given the size of the proposed development it will be interesting to see how many of these giant vehicles will trundle along our housing areas.

All over the country people are beginning to recognise that developments to increase supermarket target growth from thee to six per cent per year is a huge price to pay for massive changes in their towns.

The wise people of Harrogate, among others, recognised the dangers and have managed to get an oversized development turned down.

Yes, supermarkets have a place to play in modern life but big is not beautiful. Preserving Ilkley is up to each one of us.

Barbara J Cussons - 4 Curly Hill, Ilkley.

Couple's plight

SIR, - How sad I was to read recently of the plight of Mr and Mrs Holdsworth who have lost the view from their window over the valley due to a three-storey house being built at the bottom of their garden.

I walk my dog past the Hollingwood development daily and I have watched and waited for the building work to unfold. What we have is a posh Barrat' type estate where residents will have little or no privacy as too many houses have been packed in to too little a space and the development will become akin to a car park which will surely overflow into the nearby roads.

And as for Mr and Mrs Holdsworth, unfortunately they just don't matter. Their simple pleasure has been taken away from them without their permission and they are left with a view of a house which now completely blocks the horizon.

I cannot help but wonder what would have happened if one of the Planning Committee had lived at 12 Hollingwood Rise !

The changing face of Ilkley is disturbing. Fine old houses are being knocked down and developments are being thrown up in their place without consideration for anybody or anything and we are powerless to to stop this happening.

It's too late for us to help Mr and Mrs Holdsworth (or is it?) but we can stand together and say to the powers that be... enough is enough! We love our town and we are proud of its history.

Ilkley is steeped in tradition and people flock here to see an untouched corner of England's green and pleasant land. We don't want Tescos blotting the landscape, not to mention ruining the lives of the traders who will be affected by the building of a superstore.

We don't want developments springing up in the most unsuitable places or houses being built in someone's garden because they have sold a piece of land the size of a postage stamp to some greedy builder. Change is inevitable but please, please, please let us have positive change.

Kate Spencer - Middleton, Ilkley

Not democracy

SIR, - With regard to the proposed new Tesco store, I feel Ilkley residents should be informed as to how our alleged democracy is functioning.

I recently received a letter from Tesco which clearly states that they will be meeting representatives from Bradford Council to look at technical and other aspects of their plan which need to be considered in detail.

If there are any changes, Tesco will inform us. So Tesco are allowed to alter plans prior to an application. In other words Bradford Council are prepared to help Tesco. Eighty-four per cent of Ilkley residents are opposed to their plans yet our elected councillors are not prepared to say No' to Tesco.

In fact, I was informed that members of the planning committee were not allowed to vote on planning applications if they had been lobbied and as a result had expressed a public opinion. Obviously a private meeting with Tesco is of no importance then!

When exactly do our councillors (who are elected and paid for by us) feel that our needs should be addressed in preference to Tesco's.

To compound an awful situation, Ilkley Civic Society (who are very good at stopping shops having vandal-proof shutters) feel that the new store will be an opportunity and a challenge'. Who for exactly?

At no point do Tesco ever acknowledge that local residents do not want a new store. In fact, they proceed as if the whole matter is merely a question of complying with Bradford's requests.

So it's not a done deal then?

J Saltmarshe - 34 Brewery Road, Ilkley.

Live calves issue

SIR, - Many readers may not be aware that lifting the ban on exports of British beef has allowed the live export trade in young calves from the UK to resume.

Thousands of calves are now being exported to the continent, with some travelling to Dover from as far away as the Republic of Ireland and Scotland. Latest figures show that 15 per cent end their journey in Spain.

Scientific evidence shows that these young animals, who are often only two weeks old, suffer greatly during transport.

Most of them are male dairy calves, unwanted by the dairy industry. If they are not exported, they are often killed at birth.

Once on the continent, they are taken to veal units where they are reared in conditions which would be illegal in the UK. They are often kept in barren systems, with bedding and on slatted floors.

These calves could be reared in the UK, which would benefit animal welfare and UK farm incomes. Please ask your local MP to sign Early Day Motion 395 which calls on the Government to take action on this issue.

Buy Soil Association approved organic milk as this ensures that calves have not been exported to the continent for veal production.

Stella M Read - 126 Skipton Road, Ilkley.