People may not exactly be pouring through the doors of Ilkley Police Station, but knowing there is an open door and easy access to police officers is reassuring to many members of the community.

The revelation that the police station is only going be open from 10am to 6pm on a single weekday was not expected, especially it as had only just been announced that opening days were being reduced from five to three. If a further loss of helpdesk hours were being planned, the community might have welcomed being informed about it at the same time. As it is, some will no doubt have come to the conclusion last month that Ilkley Police Station had now had its share of the West Yorkshire force’s expected austerity cuts.

Ilkley is not alone, of course. Other smaller police stations in the division are losing some of their opening days. The central Airedale House police station in Keighley, with much higher daily visitor numbers, is going from 24/7 to an 8am to midnight front counter opening, while Eccleshill and Shipley will open two days a week instead of five.

Of course, local councillors, while worried about the loss of a useful and reassuring public service, want to remind the criminal fraternity that helpdesk cuts at the police station do not mean ‘no police in town’. Nobody doubts the high standard of policing, and the much-appreciated presence of PCs and PCSOs will continue. Police surgeries and contact points in Ilkley and the neighbouring villages will also mean Wharfedale residents will have the same opportunity to make contact with police officers that they have had for some time now.

Come the day that a resident feels the need to pop down to the local police station on a non-urgent matter, however, they may well find the door closed.

The easier it is to contact officers face-to-face – rather than through e-mails and phone calls – the more comforted and reassured residents will be.

Love and respect for comedy legend

Graham Walker was a man known to many for his comic talent. A co-founder of the Grumbleweeds, the comedian and actor entertained generations of people in a career spanning five decades.

But for all his success he remained very much part of his community. As tributes poured in this week following his death from cancer it is striking that praise has come not just from his colleagues in showbusiness but also from Bramhope where he lived. Described as a “comedy legend” and “one of the best comics we have had” by his peers he was clearly a great performer. But he was also a genuinely nice man, according to those who knew him. Always ready to help out when asked he was known as a cheerful and approachable character in the village where he lived. He achieved not only great professional success but also the love and respect of all those who knew him.