I NOTE your unfair comments regarding myself for trying to serve the people in my ward, Hainworth and Woodhouse – Criticism is unfair (Keighley News, April 27).

Keighley East had a much liked and respected development worker. It was unfortunate she was taken seriously ill as these grant applications were in progress, and some active, well-intentioned members at the centre tried to carry on with the application. In all fairness, due to both their good intention and lack of experience in this field, they failed to satisfy the development committee at Keighley Town Council.

It must be stressed that much community work does go on in this ward, more than most, as this ward – I am led to believe – is in the 200 most deprived areas in the country. Much of this community work is carried on by the very people who tried in vain to meet the town council’s so-called ‘criteria’.

You then seem to accuse myself of criticising the council for funding the community development project. This is not the case; indeed the opposite. My criticism is of the way it has been done – for example, any protocols and criteria that exclude the Woodhouse area in my opinion are not fit for purpose. This ward lost out, as it lost its present community development worker – the one person who would possibly have made a difference to the application.

As for the suggestion of a plan B, there is no plan B at this moment, and funding may well have to be sought elsewhere. It might be worth remembering people in this ward also pay the town council’s precept and have seen little over the years I’ve been a town councillor.

It also seems unfair to single out the one town councillor who is trying to help those whom he agreed to serve at their time of need.

COUNCILLOR RON BEALE Ridgemount Road, Riddlesden