Regarding the comments made by Councillor Simon Cooke – ‘Fears for future of green belt’ (Keighley News, February 20) – if he did truly fear for the future of the green belt, he would have championed our district with his Conservative-led national government, and argued to retain the ‘Brownfield Sites First policy’, which had been brought in by the previous Labour government.
He did not do so, and neither did the Keighley MP Kris Hopkins, and so that policy was abolished by Eric Pickles.
This has meant the opportunity to prioritise building houses on brownfield sites has been lost to the district.
Furthermore, he would, when his party was in charge of our local council, under the leadership of the same Kris Hopkins (then councillor), have developed a strategic plan for development that would have safeguarded our green belt.
They did not do so, and it is left to our Labour-controlled council to tackle this in much less favourable circumstances.
He needs to accept responsibility for his lack of action in the past.
Georgina Webster
Keighley
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