With regards to my article regarding the inadequate repair work to Cliffe Terrace – Sett-to over road repair (Keighley News, February 20) – and in response to Keith Escritt’s defence of the work carried out on the ‘cobbles’, how can a principal highways engineer defend shoddy workmanship? The patched-up tarmacadam has only been down for approximately three weeks and is already crumbling.

Mr Escritt, please explain how long tarmacadam should last for?

As you mentioned in your reply in last week’s Keighley News, replacement of stone setts is very expensive, but surely repairing the road to its original condition, whilst carrying out the work to a high standard, is more cost-effective than having to replace the tarmacadam every few weeks?

Parts of the tarmacadam have already washed away down the road into the drains, which will eventually get blocked. This means another expense for the council so, in hindsight, the stone setts should have been fixed correctly in the first place.

To be honest, I don’t believe there was anything much wrong with the ‘cobbles’ other than age-related problems. This has taken the character away from the street, which has been in situ for more than 100 years. I have spoken to residents and not found one that has complained in the first place.

With the tarmacadam crumbling and already being loose, this could cause a car to have a serious accident due to the steep incline of the street.

This street is part of Keighley’s heritage, and should be treated as such.

I lodged a complaint over this matter with the highways agency on February 18, and as yet have had no reply.

In Mr Escritt’s words, I do not find this to be a practical solution to a problem that was not major in the first place, just a total and utter waste of money.

Carole Oksuz Cliffe Terrace, Keighley