I WOULD like to thank Bradford Council (which has been starved of money by the Government) for planning to close the public facilities in the Keighley area, or rather letting them stay open at the expense of the local parish council rating system – along with local goodwill and volunteers.

What a good idea! Raise the council tax by six per cent, allow local councils to increase their precepts and bingo, you’ve got a great deal. Take more and give less. Oh and don’t forget the millions to be spent on the regeneration project(s) in Bradford and the possible loan regarding the ruined cinema project.

Meanwhile, the only increase we see in the Keighley areas are the number of potholes in the roads.

What, I wonder, is the percentage of rates per household in the Ilkley, Keighley, Shipley and Worth Valley areas paid in comparison to the Bradford area? Perhaps a subject to be asked in the next Freedom of Information request I make.

Anyway, let’s all sigh and pay up and enjoy the services of this great council and Government.

BRIAN HINCHLIFFE Marsh, Oxenhope