AS a lifelong citizen of Keighley, I can’t help notice how things in the last decade have gone to pot.

As time went on, more and more council-run things were being privatised or closed for good but this wasn’t happening in Bradford itself, it was happening in the outer reaches of the district.

Meanwhile Bradford Council was spending huge amounts on things like the Broadway Shopping Centre, which is struggling to fill its units with top-end retailers, and yet Keighley is still waiting for the Worth Valley shopping precinct – all we have had is the clearing of the old buildings.

Keighley and other towns around the district are struggling to get any funding from Bradford Council for any projects whatsoever and then comes this year’s budget – closures of public toilets and tourist information centres were among the cuts, yet those based in Bradford’s Centenary Square/City Park were saved and will continue to run with full council backing.

While £300,000 was able to be saved to maintain and keep the fancy fountains and pretty lights of the City Park up and running for another year, Keighley’s proposed one-way system is still no closer to being sorted. However if you ask the residents of Keighley they will tell you that the plans were next to useless anyway as they wouldn’t solve anything.

Then we come to the latest idea from Bradford Council – let’s destroy the old Keighley College and clear the land and landscape it for two years or so, then we will build a hub to base such facilities as the Keighley Jobcentre and the council benefits facilities that are based in Worth Way and Keighley Town Hall respectively. Other facilities will also call this new hub home, essentially deserting buildings around the town and adding to the already ghost-town-like vision we have.

It’s time the people of Keighley and these outer areas of the district were treated fairly and equally and also it’s time for them to have a say on what they want within their towns.

In Keighley, the major missing link in the town centre area is a leisure complex. I’m not talking about a leisure centre with a gym and swimming pool etc, but a complex with restaurants and bars and a bowling alley and cinemas and other things where local people and those from out of town can come to spend time and money and do family things together or with friends.

Currently, the nearest bowling alley is either Shipley or Skipton. We already have a small cinema but how about expanding it so we have more screens and better access to more films instead of us having to travel to Leeds, Bradford or even Halifax.

The former college site where demolition is taking place is actually positioned in an area of town where a lot of infrastructure already exists The right person in the planning department of Bradford Council could create such a complex and it’s what a lot of Keighley’s residents want. By all means have an outdoor area as well within the plans for a nice quiet space with cafes and seats around it.

The main point of this letter is that Keighley residents don’t seem to get a say in what’s happening in our town.

We weren’t consulted by the council when the old college buildings’ replacement was decided and it’s an ever occurring circumstance.

A lot of us are sick and tired of the bully boy tactics from City Hall and as such I have created a petition after hearing our local MP Kris Hopkins say we should break away from Bradford and start up on our own. It’s online via change.org and a direct link at facebook.com/groups/YKYLIKW/permalink/1202584529839245/?hc_location=ufi.

When the petition hits a decent target I will send it to our local MP to allow him to pass it on to his local allies who are looking to do the same.

DAMYAN FOSTER Keighley