Letter: Bradford Met is not fit for purpose

I write my concerns as an individual - and not on behalf of Silsden Town Council, or as a representative of the council.

Examples are:

* Numerous streetlamps not working in Silsden and the surrounding areas within Bradford Met. Many lamps have been out of action for considerable, unacceptable periods of time

* Damaged Belisha Beacon on Kirkgate, Silsden. Still not working after nearly six months

* Bradford Met Planning rarely take any notice of Silsden Town Council’s resolutions on planning applications

* Major traffic problems of parking issues in Silsden, which in turn cause major through traffic problems

* Due to the 1974 Local Government Act, many problems which were previously dealt with by Silsden, now must be actioned by Bradford. Their lack of action is very apparent.

* We in Silsden, are a very good “cash cow” for Bradford. We are not getting our fair share of the monies.

* A new school is nearing completion in entirely the wrong place for the children of Silsden. The location of this school will cause more traffic problems.

I could go on; I just wish Bradford Met could be made more accountable for their actions/non-actions

It is my firm belief that the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council is not fit for purpose and as such should be thoroughly investigated

Finally, I will state, for the record, that I am not a member of any political party. I have always stated, as a councillor, that Silsden Town Council should not and must not be subject of any political views. Our main purpose in life as councillors is to serve the residents of Silsden!

Robert G. Davis

Silsden

A Bradford Council spokesperson, said: “We repair nearly 10,000 street lights a year so if the town councillor lets us know which street lights are out, we can fix them as quickly as possible.

We are currently investing over £45m in energy efficient smart lighting systems to cut costs and carbon and improve reliability so Silsden will benefit from this.

Unfortunately there is a shortage of replacement lamps for the old orange lights and this has caused some delays.

There has been a supply fault affecting a large number of lamps in the Bridge Street and Spencer Avenue area and we have asked Northern Powergrid to repair this as quickly as possible.

The Belisha Beacon on Kirkgate was damaged in an accident and has now been repaired and is back online.

Planning applications are determined based on an agreed protocol for town and parish councils, wider planning policy and national legislation. Silsden Town Council planning comments are carefully considered within this context but we cannot approve or reject applications solely because the Town Council ask us to.

Main Street is very narrow and along with parking pinch points, causes significant congestion in the town. We will run a review of on and off-street parking in Silsden shortly. If we are to address the issue, it is likely there may be some difficult decisions to discuss about the on-street parking that we know is constricting traffic flow and contributing to congestion.

The new state-of-the-art primary school has stunning views over the beautiful Aire Valley and will deliver a much-needed boost in local capacity. The school is excited to be moving into the new premises, which will be fit for purpose and provide an excellent learning environment for the children of Silsden for many years to come.

We selected this site after carefully assessing all the potential available locations in around Silsden.

The decision was supported by professionals from education, planning, highways, estates along with local ward members.

We will continue to invest significantly and wisely to support the improvements we are determined to deliver for Silsden and across the Bradford district.”