Letters to the editor

This is due to the free travel payments from North Yorkshire County Council being reduced by 20 per cent and another bus company running too many buses on our main route between Skipton and Barnoldswick.

I am sure you will appreciate that this has been a very difficult decision for myself and my family, as my grandfather founded the business in 1925, together with his brother and brother-in-law, but unfortunately it is no longer financially viable.

I would like to thank all our loyal customers and staff for their support over the last 88 years.

I hope this clarifies the matter for you.

Maurice Simpson Pennine Motor Services Bypass is a disgrace Sir – So Skipton is the best place to live – we’ve always known that but I hope any visitors coming to look at the town land in the High Street by parachute.

Every part of the Skipton bypass looks like a landfill overflow!

The litter has never been so bad for years and years.

The accumulation is enormous. Who is in charge? Why do they let it get into this state? Do they close their eyes when they drive along and see nothing?

I have suggested for years that once the bypass has been totally bottomed of litter, a small council van should drive along with a driver and someone to jump out and pick up the odd pieces of litter, every Friday afternoon and Monday morning.

It would take two council employees no more than two hours to do this and stop the accumulation.

The bypass is one of the worst black spots in Yorkshire. It is also the Gateway to Skipton. It is now so bad I cannot imagine how they are going to cope with clearing it.

I think many volunteers are going to have to help. I can easily be contacted.

Rowena (Bunty) Leder Grassington Puddles and potholes Sir – Puddles, potholes, mud, trip-points, darkness, wobbly paving and copious dog dirt are what pedestrians can expect in “the best” place to live.

Skipton's canal towpath is a disgrace. It carries a thousand trips a day, many of them by school and college pupils. Craven District Council paid to surface the path through town and put in lights back in 1999, but it made no arrangement for maintenance. The puddles are so deep in wet weather that students balance precariously along the edge of the canal to get past them. The lights have been off for four years.

The stretch of path from Aireville Park bridge to the Broughton Road end of town has never been surfaced and is often a quagmire. In 2013 school pupils in a survey identified improving the towpath as a top priority for them, 200 people from Broughton Road area signed letters to the government asking for a grant to get the western part surfaced, whilst 450 people petitioned the Canal and River Trust and I asked the town council for help. In response, the trust set up a volunteer team to cut back undergrowth and pick up litter, and offered to pay for lights to be repaired – if Craven and North Yorkshire would maintain them thereafter. They refused. Craven District Council set £70,000 aside to improve the towpath but has never spent it. The “best in Britain” has a deep flaw running through its heart.

Claire Nash Skipton A phone is not luxury Sir – I do hope Richard Wellock never experiences the sudden cessation of income that often precedes the need to ask for help from a food bank.

Whether you are earning or depend on benefits, it is all too easy, in the present economic climate, either because of redundancy, personal catastrophe or ATOS, to find yourself suddenly and unexpectedly without an adequate income, often for some time.

Everybody, including the government, and potential employers, expects you to be able to phone the relevant department to access information, advice and support, so a phone is essential.

And a pay as you go mobile (£10 from a supermarket near you), with small top ups, is far cheaper than a land line, both to set up and to maintain, and far more sensible too, if you do not have a long term permanent address. If only the official DWP numbers were cheap to ring from a PAYG phone and did not charge for the time you wait to speak to someone until your top up has run out, they might even be an effective way of getting help!

Hardly anybody goes to a food bank willingly and cheerfully.

The possibility that a few antisocial people, whose conscience is severely underdeveloped, might exploit the opportunity (personally, I think their existence is about on a par with the existence of unicorns) should not prevent us from supporting those that use them, whether they have mobiles or not.

I’m quite happy that people ask for food when they haven't got any, even if they have colour televisions, running water and inside toilets as well as mobiles!

Jean Maston Ilkley Food Bank response Sir – In response to Richard Wellock (Letters, March 20, “Food Bank Question”), may I reassure him and any who share his concern, that the choice to provide a food hamper rests with the support agency working with the person(s) concerned and not with the team at the food bank. While previously I might personally have inclined toward Mr Wellock’s view, since becoming directly involved with food bank on a daily basis, meeting and talking with the professional people who are trained to identify and address levels of need (within ever-tightening budgets), I am increasingly impressed with the integrity with which they do their jobs: aside from striving to avoid clients becoming dependent on food aid, they are also genuinely mindful that the food has been kindly donated by members of our community and work hard to ensure it reaches those in genuine need, as part of a strategic package of support aimed at addressing the underlying cause of their need.

May I also take this opportunity to thank the very many people of Skipton and Craven who support our food bank so generously with food, money and time.

Without this vital contribution to the work, it would not be possible to help so many people. Skipton has (deservedly!) been identified as the best place to live – for Skipton, also read Craven, where the community spirit is alive and strong.

Ella Smith Team Leader, Skipton Food Bank Businesses are against new superstore Sir – As you know from my previous correspondence, I have serious concerns about the devastating impact the proposed new Sainsbury’s superstore at Wyvern Park could have on Skipton High Street.

As an out-of-town one-stop-shop on the bypass, the new store would suck the life out of Skipton. Shops would be closed and jobs would be lost.

A few weeks on, the results from the business questionnaire I have been conducting show I am not alone in my fears.

Of the 96 local businesses that replied to my questionnaire, 77.1% oppose the scheme and 55.3% fear the new store would directly harm their own business.

Last Thursday, those of us who are concerned and want to do something about it got together at the Rendezvous Hotel at the invitation of owner Malcolm Weaving.

Local shops and businesses are doing everything they can and at this meeting we agreed to contact the press and let people across the town know how they can help too.

I would once again urge all Skipton residents to object to this ill-thought-out scheme.

Quite a few local shops and businesses are hosting a petition (including Car Radio Skipton, C&H Brown, Dogsbody & Friends, Herriots Hotel, Taste Deli, Walkers Bakery and Wonder in Wood).

If you don’t want Skipton to sleepwalk into disaster, please sign the petition before April 3, or better still email the council at plan ning@cravendc.gov.uk to say why you object to the plans that will do so much harm to our town.

Brian Verity Skipton Properties Music Festival Sir – I’ve just returned from the opening session of the Skipton Music Festival, which featured the Speech and Drama session. The afternoon was a lot of fun, both for audience and for the youngsters from Water Street School who entertained us.

We had all the skills demonstrated – drama, prose reading, poetry and choral speaking – and all done extremely well. Lorraine Taylor Parker, a local speech and drama teacher, came and gave the youngsters lots of praise and some useful tips on how to improve what they were doing.

Year 2 had written their own, very different version of Red Riding Hood and Year 3 taught us about the poetic form Haiku and then recited some they had written themselves. Two groups in Year 6 performed two of Roald Dahl’s “Revolting Rhymes”, which had the audience chuckling.

Sadly, Water Street was the only school to become involved this year.

The festival gives children and young people the chance to learn a little about public speaking and to gain in confidence in an unthreatening environment.

Maybe your school can become involved next year – Water Street certainly will!

Jill Wright Secretary, Skipton Music Festival Praise for parish council Sir – It was a real heart warmer to read the letter from Brian Hugill (Craven Herald, March 20).

It is good to see that so many people are volunteering for the various organisations and works in Hellifield. It is making this community vibrant.

I have worked, and enjoyed the work immensely, with Hellifield Parish Council in my two years as district councillor and have seen the good works, first hand, that the council and community are doing.

For example, the parish council has registered both the playing field on Station Road and the one on Thorndale Street as community assets, installed a cycle pump track at the station Road Field and following consultation with the villagers the council is looking to put more equipment on this field.

Hellifield is in the process of installing a defibrillator (I hope it never has to be used).

Long may this work continue.

Chris Moorby District Councillor Rotary thanks Sir – The Rotary Club of Keighley sponsored a concert by the Airedale Male Voice Choir on Saturday, March 22, at St Andrew's Church, Newmarket Street, Skipton.

A packed church was treated to an evening of first-class and varied music, ranging from spirituals, through songs from the shows to The Ballad of the Blue-tailed Fly.

May I express my thanks to all who contributed to making the evening such a success: the choir for being up to their usual, excellent standard; St Andrew’s Church for the use of their premises. (the acoustics made a real difference); Isaacs Working Jewellers for acting as a point of sale and the ladies of the Rotary Club of Keighley for the work with refreshments in the interlude.

As a result of the evening £550 will be given to Yorkshire Air Ambulance towards their vital work in God's own county.

Alan Hickman President, Rotary Club of Keighley Rail freight success Sir – Three cheers to Lafarge/Tarmac and the YDNPA who, at last week’s planning meeting, collectively paved the way towards reconnecting the railhead at Arcow quarry.

It is encouraging to see Lafarge pursuing a sustainable future for its operations in Upper Ribblesdale. The consequent reduction in road haulage will not only benefit the the historic market town of Settle, the surrounding communities and the environment but it will also help secure the viability of our much loved Settle-Carlisle Railway Line.

The YDNPA have identified a 50 per cent reduction in quarry HGV traffic by 2015 as a goal in its latest management plan.

Lafarge's move to transfer much of its quarried stone from road to rail is a positive step towards this objective.

Let us hope this signals an overall win/win policy which will be taken up and rolled out across all of Upper Ribblesdale.

Betsy Bell Secretary, Friends of Upper Ribblesdale (FOUR) Anger at A65 works Sir – With regard to the letter last week and the traffic lights at Mearbeck on the A65 outside Settle.

I telephoned the highways department of NYCC on Wednesday, March 19 and was told that the problem is that tree roots have penetrated the drain causing the road to collapse.

The road has therefore become dangerous and that's why the traffic lights are in place.

I pointed out that the lights have been there for over five weeks without any progress being made and that for the last three Sundays the traffic has backed up to the roundabout and asked when the problem was going to be fixed.

Apparently they are waiting for the road to dry. As this section of the road is almost always wet I suggested that someone was fobbing her off!

She did say, however, that someone from the highways department was doing a site inspection that day. Let’s hope that the road was dry enough to inspect it.

Janet Heap Settle Anthrax concern Sir – Sadly it seems that planning authorities are required to protect bats more than people. At the March meeting of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s planning committee, the legal officer informed members that the possibility of digging up anthrax spores was not a planning issue.

The authority hadn’t even notified the environmental department at Craven District Council that older residents in Starbotton were very concerned that an extension to a garage in the village could lead to the excavation of anthrax contaminated carcases. But it would have been a planning issue if there had been any chance of bats being disturbed!

The Association of Rural Communities understands that the Environmental Department at Craven District Council has now been informed by a resident – and it is hoped that tests will be carried out to ascertain if infected carcasses were buried at that site before any excavations take place.

That’s the least that can be done to allay the fears of residents in Starbotton and to make sure that Wharfedale is protected from an outbreak of such a deadly disease.

Ms Pip Land Administrative Officer Association of Rural Communities Pennine bus memories Sir – Following the report of the Pennine Motors, I thought it wholly appropriate to describe a glowing memory.

Besides their everyday services around Craven, the Pennine also ran special excursions to sporting events far and wide across the country.

One such event to behold was the St Leger at Doncaster. In its glory days of half a century ago, it would attract tens of thousands from across the North and beyond. Indeed – then staged in midweek – that event, with all the additional fairground razzamatazz and thousands also packed inside the course where the executive seats now stan, represented something of a public holiday for much of South Yorkshire as pits, engineering premises and other giant workshops virtually shut down for the day.

Few people though from anywhere then possessed a motor car, which meant that the majority of attendees at horse racing’s oldest classic homed in via public transport, and amongst it all, there were around 500 special buses and coaches.

However, prior to the improvement of the motorway network and neighbouring bypasses, Doncaster then on such days was a perennial traffic jam, thus most drivers of those raceday specials would drop their passengers somewhere near the course and then park up in or around the giant car park while the race meeting was under way.

Amid the giant scrimmage after the final race though, thousands of race-goers milled around for seemingly an eternity to find their respective coaches – but not for anyone travelling on the Pennine.

Reason being – it was the only orange bus in the entire parking area, hence the Pennine special was invariably one of the first out for the starting gates on the journey home.

Roger Ingham Skipton Shame to lose mayor Sir – Skipton Town Council are losing are fine man. John Kerwin-Davy is a man who loves his town and is dedicated to his mayoral duties.

I totally agree with John that he should have been supported by his fellow councillors over the proposed 12 per cent increase for council staff which is ludricous in this economic climate.

John Kerwin-Davy has not failed the people, it is the town council who have failed him.

Elizabeth Porter Skipton Speed increase study Sir – I wonder if people would be interested to know I have just received the two-year study of the speed increase on Danish roads – 80km to 90km (rural) and 110km to 130km (motorway).

Fatalities have been reduced and the Danish police against the idea to start with have changed their mind.

Godfrey Bloom MEP Patron of the Drivers’ Union MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire Sir – Val Carroll urges those who are concerned about the development of greenfield land for housing to consider voting for the Labour Party (Letters, March 20).

But hang on, is this not the same party that unleashed mass immigration contributing in no small part to the shortage of housing in the first place?

Let’s not even mention the effect this had on schooling, hospitals, social services, jobs and policing. And of course it was and still is their own core voters who suffer.

The most from what could be considered as one of the most irresponsible actions taken by a modern British government.

According to Andrew Neather, speechwriter to Blair, Straw and Blunket, this did not happen by accident. In 2009 he claimed that the Labour Party planned mass immigration for no other reason than to change the face of Britain. As for the Lib Dems, Vince Cable has recently announced that “..soaring immigration is good for Britain”. No reprieve from Lib Dems then! “Let it rip” appears to be their watchword.

The Conservative Party promised to reduce immigration to the “tens of thousands” but latest figures show they have missed their target by a mile because they have no power to control migration from the EU and still appear to be in denial of the fact.

Forget Lib/Lab/Con, those concerned about the development of ever more of our precious greenfield land may like to support UKIP. They are the only party who will take back control of our borders from the EU, effectively limit immigration and thus correspondingly reduce housing demand.

A J A Smith UKIP Yorkshire Dales secretary Cowling