Fearful of more cycling accidents

It is now a common sight to see single cyclists, or pairs or groups on the roads at any time of day, seven days a week. But some of the things I’ve witnessed in the past fortnight have been truly worrying.

I’ve seen cyclists riding two or three abreast, thus forcing cars to swerve around them into oncoming lanes; cyclists hogging the centre of a lane with the same consequence for following drivers; cyclists who have drawn up besides a vehicle which was clearly indicating left at a traffic-lit junction and then trying to race it by going ahead and nearly getting knocked down as the car turned; cyclists ignoring a red light at both a pedestrian crossing and a crossroads and riding on through without pausing; cyclists riding without a helmet and/or riding in dark or black clothing which made them hard to see even in daylight; cyclists riding along the pavement and swerving to avoid pedestrians. And so on and so on. I’m definitely not anti-cyclist, I have my own bike, and by and large (I hope) most cyclists are sensible and road-aware, but many aren’t.

Similarly, most car drivers hopefully take account of cyclists, but when behaviours such as those I’ve described come to the fore, then there’s a horrible opportunity for Le Grand Départ to become, for some, Le départ définitif.

Alan Sturgess, Gargrave

Ill-thought out

Sir – Your headline about the potential gridlock to Skipton from the Tour de France shows how ill-thought through was this event.

I share the care of an elderly relative in Skipton.

We visit each day, preparing meals, cleaning etc, all of which is necessary to keep him cared for. But all that is going to be upset for the Tour de France.

The meeting of North Yorkshire and other organisations could offer no support.

The best that was suggested in coming from Embsay was that part of Harrogate Road may be open from which to access the Regent estate and then to park there and walk.

I know of other people in town who have to have round-the-clock visits from care agencies and I have been told of someone who has to have medication administered by the district health service within a two-hour window each day.

I dread to think what is going to happen to those people who rely on such services as a lifeline.

It seems to me that any efficient organisation, politicians and officers would have thought about contingency plans before accepting such an event, rather than fire-fighting after it has all been agreed.

It is a mark of a civilised society as to how it deals with its vulnerable citizens but it seems that our governors have been more interested in the glamour and glitz rather than being concerned about essential care for the people they serve.

John Morely-Stratton, Embsay

An inconvenience

Sir – Congratulations to those councillors who are attempting to add to the authentic ambiance by arranging a complete Gallic experience for all those who will visit the area for “Le Grand Depart”.

Closing public conveniences in tourist areas will give us tykes the realistic French atmosphere of people widdling at the side of the road as the bikes whizz by.

Chris Bryant, Steeton

Outrageous charges

Sir – Brian Verity’s letter last week was, of course, absolutely correct, but I fear too late.

Craven District Council and the Chamber of Trade should now (already 10 years too late) be considering what action to take to re-vitalise the town centre to make it interesting and easy to visit.

Small independent specialist shops should be encouraged to come into the units currently being built at the top of the High Street.

We certainly do not need any more coffee shops, cafes or restaurants.

The whole of the High Street and Otley Street must be pedestrianised as per the plan produced some years ago.

There will always be a vociferous minority opposed to this idea but councillors must see the wider view.

The outrageous car parking charges just stop people shopping in the High Street and should be removed, why should they bother with the centre when they can buy everything on the outskirts of Skipton without having to pay to park.

Whilst I understand that the council need the cash cow of the car parks to keep the show on the road, unless some serious thought is given to saving our beautiful High Street and the retailers on it, the centre of Skipton will surely die and probably the council with it, as when it will be merged with neighbouring authorities.

Stephen Lodge, Threshfield

Build homes instead

Sir – As great as it is to see Mr Verity shouting for the good of the town, I can’t help but wonder if we lose Sainsbury’s, how else will we be able to create the extra space for small to medium businesses in Skipton?

There is a clear need for more room, but the infrastructure (ie the link road) needed to support the plans will be too expensive without the superstore.

I do fear Sainsbury’s would have an impact on the town centre, so perhaps more housing might be the answer.

Of course this could help Mr Verity’s own company, but the fact is we do need more homes – particularly for young families. Perhaps this is the best way to kill two birds with one stone?

A Ponsworth, Skipton

Yorkshire Water bills ‘among the lowest’

Sir – At a time of year when many customers will receive their annual water bills, I’d like to take this opportunity to explain how we have listened and, as a result, acted to reduce the burden on household budgets.

Over the next six years we plan to cut our profits to help keep water bills as low as possible. This means that this year the average household bill in Yorkshire will only rise in line with inflation to £373, up from an average of £368 last year.

Yorkshire’s bills are already among the lowest in the country and we recently asked 30,000 customers about their priorities in terms of what we should spend money on, and how much we should spend.

This is the biggest customer consultation carried out by a water company.

What customers told us was that they still expect the same great service, but that bills should be kept as low as possible. We have acted on what customers told us by promising not only to limit any change in prices to inflation during 2014-15, but by also proposing that we continue to do that for the next five years.

We maintain more than 62,000 miles of pipes (five per cent of which are more than 100 years old), 700 water treatment works and 133 reservoirs, and we do still need to spend money on repairing and maintaining this critical infrastructure.

In doing so we create a ripple effect of investment back into the region, which has been calculated by Leeds University to be £93 for every £100 we spend.

Of course this has to be balanced against customers’ ability to pay, which is why we run a range of schemes to help those people who are struggling to make ends meet.

In fact, last year we accepted 10,000 customers onto a scheme we call ‘Resolve’ and rewarded those who kept up with payments by cancelling their debt to a total value of £2.3 million.

I would like to reassure our customers that we will continue to look for ways to keep our costs and their charges as low as possible in the future as part of our ‘Blueprint for Yorkshire’.

In the meantime, anyone wishing to know more about our on-going investment in their area can visit www.yorkshirewater.com/myarea

Richard Flint, Chief Executive, Yorkshire Water

A ‘vortex of madness’

Sir – As the recent economic recovery gathers pace one should be wary of the claim that this vindicates George Osborne’s policy of austerity, which remains far from proved.

I suspect that PPI compensation gave a significant boost to consumption.

While the total amount paid in compensation was modest when considered in relation to the size of the economy as a whole, the money was a windfall for households and a direct injection of cash into their finances.

I would wager that most of this money has been spent and thus contributed in part to raising GDP. As we have seen while the economy is growing, the balance of trade has deteriorated sharply thus revealing the disfigured and dysfunctional state of our national economic model.

We are a post-industrial consumerised economy that structurally continues to consume more than we produce.

Meanwhile national politicians enthusiastically support the closing of this gap by way of inward investment from foreign interests under the fatuous claim that ‘we’re open for business’.

What they are failing to acknowledge is that the country is being sold from under our feet to the highest bidder.

We may sustain growth for a few more years but this recovery bears many of the hallmarks of the boom that led us to disaster in the first place since it is based upon rekindling exponential growth of consumption and credit. Without these the economy stalls.

Our destiny is now clear: we are headed towards becoming a country of colonial servants presided over by a new oligarchy.

Politically and economically we are locked in a vortex of madness and no one seems to know what to do about it.

Kevin Hey, Castle Road, Colne

Preserving rare breeds

Sir – One of our members recently sent me a copy of Dales Life (January 9) featuring the work of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST).

I am writing to thank you for giving publicity to the organisation and also to congratulate your feature writer Victoria Benn for producing such an informative and readable article.

RBST greatly appreciates such coverage in the local press and the article was particularly appropriate because RBST members in the Dales and elsewhere in Yorkshire have been among the most hard-working and committed campaigners for our cause.

As Victoria pointed out, the work of the RBST sometimes escapes attention but it was the first organisation of its kind in the world.

RBST remains the leader in the field and has provided the blueprint for many similar ventures across the globe.

Sheep are arguably the most numerous of our domesticated farmed animals and globally the population is measured by the billions. On your doorstep Wensleydale Longwool Sheep has less than 1,500 breeding females and even more dramatically, the small Boreray sheep breed from the Western Isles less than 300 females – making this breed much rarer than the Giant Panda.

Each year RBST publishes a watch-list – an early warning system which flags up the prevailing fortunes of Britain’s native livestock breeds.

All these animals are an important part of our farming heritage and, more significantly, will have a place in our farming future.

The marriage of livestock and landscape is also responsible for the development and maintenance of many of our areas of outstanding natural beauty. Without this creative partnership much of our land would revert to wilderness.

The kinds of farmers featured in your paper demonstrate the best traditions and characteristics of British farming. The food they produce for the table is among the finest to be found anywhere. Produced with high animal welfare in mind, these traceable quality products are a real treat and well worth seeking out.

Long may the folk of the Dales fly the flag for this important and pioneering arm of farming conservation and long may you put the spotlight on the special qualities of this beautiful area of Britain.

Peter Titley, President, Rare Breeds Survival Trust

Food bank support

Sir – Following on from the fabulous feature on the Skipton Food Bank (January 23), I wanted to share our donation to the food bank.

Since January 1, I’ve been encouraging my members from the three Skipton Slimming World groups to bring in any leftover Christmas goodies – a sort of goody ‘amnesty’.

The purpose of this has been twofold, to help my members get things out of the house that could potentially sabotage their New Year weight loss and to help a worthy cause.

I’m proud to say we managed to collect two big bin liners full of goodies.

Sarah Rishworth, Slimming World Consultant, Skipton

Lib Dems in Europe

Sir – Never have elections to the European Parliament mattered as much as they do this year.

This week marks 100 days till the European elections, and this time it really matters.

There are those who want to see the message sent to businesses and investors that Britain wants out of the EU.

That would be a disaster, not just for the country as a whole but right here in the Yorkshire and the Humber region.

The Liberal Democrats are clear that there is only one message that should be sent out – “In Europe, In Work”.

We shouldn’t forget that so many major businesses, responsible for thousands of jobs across the area, have said being in the EU is vital for their success. These businesses include well known names, such as Nestle, BAE Systems and BT.

A recent survey has found that a number of local businesses could close if we left putting over 120,000 jobs in the Yorkshire and the Humber region at risk.

The Conservatives are openly flirting with exit and Labour are running scared of the debate.

Only the Liberal Democrats are prepared to stand up and make the case for Britain in Europe, defending all those jobs that rely on Britain’s membership of the EU.

So don’t wait for a referendum or a General Election, use May’s elections to say you are in.

In for the sake of British jobs, British business and Britain’s influence in the world.

Edward McMillan-Scott, Rebecca Taylor, Liberal Democrat MEPs for Yorkshire and the Humber

Pleased for the BID

Sir – I’m pleased to see Skipton BID has been given the chance to operate for another five years.

It has made a real difference to the town and plays an important role in bringing tourism to the town.

However, and some of the town’s festivities could do with refreshing – such as the rather stale Christmas Market. There needs to be far more for families to do.

So we hope whoever replaces Mr Wathen uses the vote to do a thorough review of all that’s done to promote our great town.

Mrs E Green, Skipton