Letter: Council frittered away cash on silly schemes

Council frittered away cash

So this is what we will be ending up with in Kirklees. No libraries, no town hall, no toilets, no markets and a host of other clinics, old folk’s homes etc. that they will be closing down. Sometimes I wonder if my generation had actually won all those wars. God help us if we had lost!

I suppose this is our reward for letting a gang of cotton-brained councillors run Kirklees. I have always maintained that before they become councillors they should sit an IQ test.

For years Kirklees has been awash with cash that has been frittered away on silly schemes which have lost money. One in particular was the Batley City Challenge Grant – I don’t think anybody ever saw a balance sheet – and where did they get that huge sum of money to put in the Icelandic Bank that went down the drain with the rest of the council investments? I would like to know where the bulk of City Challenge money ended up.

Most of the councillors that caused all the problems are now long gone. Hanging Heaton was then in Batley East ward and we were constantly up against a brick wall trying to fight against the onslaught of ridiculous ideas. These councillors and officials just seconded themselves over to another part of Kirklees to avoid trouble. Those who have brought us to this state must be made to answer for it. We did not feed peanuts, but ended up with monkeys.

Jack Bunn

Hanging Heaton

Batley

Flood alleviation

Work has caused a big problem

Recent essential major flood alleviation work carried out in the Old Bank/Sunnybank area of Mirfield has caused major disruption and inconvenience to the lives of local residents. Old Bank Road and Lower Sunny Bank Avenue (which is still closed) were closed for several weeks leading to the diversion of buses.

Residents, many of them elderly, had to walk a considerable distance to the nearest bus stop and return laden with shopping. There has been nothing but praise by the majority of local residents regarding the conduct of the contract which has been carried out with due diligence and professionalism. The major concern has been with the conduct of West Yorkshire Metro who showed a total disregard for the local community, by failing to provide adequate information regarding bus timetables and diversions prior to commencement, and by failing to provide a convenient shuttle bus service to transport people to a convenient bus stop. When I telephoned West Yorkshire Metro regarding the problem, I was informed that a shuttle service would only be provided if the main contractor provided the finance. I find this strange as several years ago when major drainage works were carried out in Dunbottle Lane, Mirfield, a shuttle service was provided during the period of the road closure.

Harold Laycock

Sunny Bank Avenue

Mirfield