Overflowing bins in one of the Ilkley’s busiest visitor areas after an influx of daytrippers last weekend were a health hazard, a concerned resident has claimed.

Ilkley resident Leslie Hall contacted us about the piles of rubbish, including food waste, abandoned barbecues and other rubbish in the Riverside Gardens park and East Holmes Field, after having difficulty contacting the relevant Bradford Council department on Monday.

Mr Hall says some bins were already overflowing by Friday, but the Council did not make extra visits to clean them out, despite hot weather attracting many additional visitors. The rubbish was cleared on Monday.

A Bradford Council spokesman said: “The litter bins in Riverside Gardens are emptied on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.”

Cyclists need action to deter aggressive drivers

I wish to alert you to the serious problem of cycling safety illustrated by incidents I experienced earlier this week.

While cycling from Ilkley and Otley on three occasions I was the victim of aggressive and psychopathic driving trying to run me off the road.

The most serious being in Ilkley when an approaching car, yes an approaching car, the driver with one hand on the wheel drinking from a can with the other, deliberately crossed the centre of the road and drove straight at me, forcing me into the kerb.

These incidents unfortunately are not unusual. Every time I go out I encounter danger from aggressive motorists.

But unfortunately these incidents don’t get reported until an accident actually occurs.

Cyclists are too traumatised when they happen to note the licence plate of the vehicle, and so they escape without penalty.

I know that the Government is trying to encourage cycling and provide grants for those who use them to travel to work.

I would like councillors and our MP to investigate if grants can also be made available to obtain video cameras that fit on cycling helmets so that these incidents are recorded and the perpetrators brought to justice.

Cycling safety is a big issue for the increasing number of cyclists and a deterrent to those who would like to use a bike but are too afraid. Not until we get these lunatics who put life in danger and prosecute them vigorously can we hope to have an environmentally friendly means of transport and leisure.

Malcolm Naylor, Grange View, Otley

Unnecessary steet clutter is real danger to the blind

Street clutter such as irresponsibly placed shop advertising signs (A-boards) and pavement cafe furniture can obstruct and hamper a person’s progress on the street.

Keeping pathways clear is particularly crucial for the independence of people who are blind and partially sighted. A recent Guide Dogs survey for their Streets Ahead campaign showed A-boards and cafe furniture are both in the top ten most common street clutter items, acting as a real barrier to a person’s independence. Shockingly, 65 per cent of those with sight loss have been injured by street clutter too.

It also prevents wheelchair users and other vulnerable pedestrians from using the pavements with confidence.

Several local councils have already introduced measures to reduce unnecessary clutter. For example shops can use window adverts instead of multiple A-boards to entice customers and improve the street for pedestrians.

I would like your paper to join me in a campaign to ask the council to introduce measures to tackle unnecessary street clutter and ensure that our high street is fully accessible to those who are blind or partially sighted. Please email campaigns@guidedogs.org.uk for more information about their campaign and survey findings. As regards Ilkley I would suggest that The Grove would be a good place to start. Does anyone else have any other suggestions?

Andrew Barton, Ilkley

I am proud of our skilled and entertaining rugby

On behalf of Ilkley Rugby Club, I would like to express my thanks to the Ilkley Community and our local sporting community for their support this season, and more specifically over the last two months.

We have just completed our most successful season in the club’s known history, with our 1st XV winning the Yorkshire 1 league title, and last Sunday, the Yorkshire Shield 38-10 v Scarborough RUFC.

Our 2nd XV also won their merit league and have been promoted to the Premiership.

Our attendances have more than trebled as word has spread of our success, and I am proud that they have been able to witness a highly skilled and entertaining brand of rugby over all three of our teams.

We have had to lay on coaches for spectators for our crucial last few away games, and this support cannot be underestimated. The players hear and feel their presence and this is worth game points in itself. The 1st XV have just completed an unbeaten run of 24 matches, with the 2nd XV winning all 25 of their league games without defeat.

We are competing in North 1 East next season and would welcome the same tranche of support to witness an even higher calibre of rugby at Stacks Field.

The club is expanding and developing with a new fitness and rehabilitation unit due to commence this summer.

We would welcome all new members to join our rugby community whether as supporters or players and guarantee top drawer rugby and a great social scene.

Our last home match drew a crowd of 650-plus and it is to support like this that the club extends its grateful thanks.

Tom Gillon, chairman, Ilkley Rugby Club

New brown bins will not meet my recycling needs The sun is shining as I write this and like many of you who enjoy their gardens my thoughts are turning to gardening.

The collection of green waste from my garden has been very useful because I have generated at least six or seven bags each collection!

I am disgruntled that the new brown bins to be provided by Bradford Council will not meet my needs and as I have received complaints from residents in my ward there are those of you who agree.

I can see that the new bins are better on health and safety grounds for the people who collect them, but these costly bins will be woefully inadequate, in terms of capacity (three-five bags worth), in terms of recycling, and in meeting the needs of council tax payers.

In Wharfedale ward many of us have gardens and the council tax bands reflect this!

For many, a small garden waste bin will not suffice and I expect it may lead to less garden waste being recycled because some people have no way to transport their excess to the ‘tips’ and some of it may end up in the general waste bins.

This is not environmentally friendly, nor are the extra car journeys to the tip, if you have a car.

We may be able to purchase extra bins, if we have room to store them and they are not too costly – but how many bins per household will the Council empty if we buy more? Questions I shall be seeking answers to.

For me it’s about what I can reasonably expect in return for my council tax, my wish to see as much garden waste as possible recycled and whether this policy of bins versus bags was adequately considered and will save money and be environmentally friendly in the long run?

Councillor Jackie Whiteley, Wharfedale Ward

Energy production must not be about maximum profits

Our fuel bills are rising fast, and politicians seem to have little idea what to do about it.

Tackling the profit-hungry energy companies has to be part of the answer.

But the banks, too, must be made to change their ways.

In years to come, coal, oil and gas prices are certain to carry on rising, while the cost of renewable energy will fall as long as we invest in infrastructure.

Despite this, the big banks put billions into dirty fossil fuel projects – many of which pollute and destroy people’s rivers and forests in developing countries – while their investments in renewables remain tiny.

We need ways of financing, producing and distributing energy that are good for people everywhere, and not geared solely towards maximising corporate profit.

Terry Farrer, Lingfield Road, Wilsden