This wasn’t tipping Sir – I write with reference to Mr Harvey's letter in last week's Craven Herald and the issue of fly tipping along Carleton Road near the Crematorium. I would like to point out that this was not a case of fly tipping but rather rubbish collected by a team of volunteers from Skipton Angling Association endeavouring to clean up the local environment. The rubbish collected, as shown in the photograph, some of which was fly tipped under the bypass bridge, was left in a prominent position awaiting collection by Craven District Council as arranged and advertised in the angling column of the April 10 edition of the Craven Herald. I hope this clarifies at least part of Mr Harvey’s concerns.

Alan Wade Burnside Crescent Skipton l See A Craven Diary, Page 5 of Dales Life Anti-green forces Sir – John and Betty Brashay's letter in support of wind turbines (Letters, Craven Herald, April 10) is to be applauded. Sadly, for them, as for anyone who realises the desperate urgency of shifting to renewable energy, they are up against deeply cynical political forces.

The Conservative government, currently stalling on existing proposals for onshore wind developments and and preparing a manifesto pledge to ban futures ones, has one concern, and one only – UKIP. If Nigel Farage were to execute a 180-degree turn and declare himself a convert to wind power, you can be sure that David Cameron would perform a similar volte-face.

In his case it would actually be a second volte-face, since the man who, in 2010, promised us “the greenest government in history” was, in the autumn of 2013 allegedly instructing officials to get rid of the “green crap” from energy bills. Watching the present Conservative Party try to outdo UKIP in appealing to prejudice of every kind is like watching two competitors in a village gurning competition. It must sadden the hearts of intelligent Conservatives to see it.

Young students of politics should be made to study, alongside the sound-bites of Cameron and Osborne, the recent speeches by US Secretary of State John Kerry, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu – both stressing the urgency of tackling carbon emissions – in order to gain a sense of the difference between a statesman and a mere politician.

And, lest this be thought simply to be an attack on the Conservative Party, let me hark back to an older, wiser strain of Conservatism - that of men who had seen civilisation imperilled and knew from experience the importance of a wider vision.

Ian Macleod, who now lies buried in Gargrave churchyard, once said of Harold Wilson that he was a Prime Minister whose “vision was limited to tomorrow’s headlines”. There is, alas, even less room for visionary leadership when policy is dictated by this afternoon’s crop of tweets.

Professor Glyn Turton Church Street Long Preston Car parks concerns I add comments to the lead stories in Craven Herald (April 3 and April 10).

1) In respect of the High Street and the market versus parking issue it seems more than coincidence that the regulations are going to be changed as soon as "people power" enters the fray and shows up what a farce the present position is. This winter of a bleak deserted High Street being the worst ever.

So I was delighted to read the headline "parking curbs to be relaxed", until I then read that the town council have "been working on this for some time" and North Yorkshire County Council will now "start the process and will advertise the changes for a month and will then hold a public consultation".

So I guess the changes are actually many months away? Accordingly I assume that all summer in our busy tourist season the traffic wardens will continue to scare away visitors by issuing tickets whenever possible. Can the council not let common sense prevail meanwhile and let the Wardens adopt a more relaxed style.

2) Last week it was staggering to read that Craven District Council (CDC) needed to be alerted by auditors that car park income had dropped and it would take several weeks to analyse the reasons.

I do not comment about CDC’s policy of outsourcing this work, although I wonder about control?

My point is that income must have dropped because the ancient ticket machines are out of use so much of the time. In the top Coach Street car park there are only two machines and one has been covered up and out of use for a full six months (yes, note six months) and the other machine is often out of use including this week. So no working machine in this car park.

A sign proudly states "if not working use another machine". To a visitor there just is not another machine (the nearest alternative cannot be seen from the top car park) and to a local they have to trail in the rain to the bottom car park to pay for a ticket. Last week I noticed that even a newer machine in the Town Hall car park has also been covered up and out of use. I have lost count of how many times I have contacted CDC at all levels but nothing ever gets done.

Easy to realise that our car parks are operated by local authority – would a private operator such as NCP lose income because a machine has not worked for six months? I think not.

Richard Mashiter Craven Stationery Coach Street Skipton ‘Astonishing’ rewards Sir – As a member of the Skipton Building Society over many years I would like to draw the attention of your readers to the annual report I have just received from the society.

On page 33 of the report is a summary of the remuneration package paid to the four chief officers. Even in these times of corporate greed the figures quoted are astonishing.

For example, last year the chief executive, Mr Cutter, received a total pay package of £751,000, which included “performance pay” of £296,000. In the real world in which most of us live and work we are paid a salary on the assumption that we will carry out our duties to the best of our ability.

It seems that at the Skipton Building Society this assumption does not hold and extra “incentives” have to be offered to ensure that the job will done to the required standard.

Mr Cutter is not the only one to be rewarded so gratuitously. In 2013 the combined salaries of Mr Cutter and his three chief officers amounted to £2,196,000 which is an increase of £526,000 (almost 30 per cent) over their previous year’s pay. Even the part-time chairman of the board received £155,000.

Of course these people do hold responsible posts and are charged with ensuring that the society is run properly and at a profit. However, these astronomical payments are way beyond what most people would regard as reasonable and fair.

John Turley Colne Village bridge work Sir – What a delightful photograph of the newly refurbished bridge in Kettlewell (Craven Herald, April 10), but what a pity that the information in the last paragraph is incorrect.

Quote: “They recruited Cracoe craftsman Richard Tankard to carry out the work”.

Richard Tankard lives in Kettlewell, not Cracoe, and to my knowledge has no joinery experience. The craftsman who carried out the work was in fact Andrew Walker, who operates from a workshop in Hetton.

L Walker Hetton A ‘Cinderella’ council Sir – Following Coun Kerwin-Davey’s departure, perhaps it was inevitable that Skipton Town Council staff would start getting flak in your columns.

I write as a retired local government officer who served local authority for many years in the Midlands. I do not know any of the councillors or officers from Skipton Town Council, but I have kept a close eye on what happens in local democracy and have sat in on a couple of meetings over the years.

I have to say that local government in this part of the world is over-complicated. There is North Yorkshire County Council, Craven District, and then there is Skipton Town – a Cinderella council next to the Ugly Sisters of the other two, having to sweep up and deal with the fallout for Skipton from the others’ incompetent policies and decisions.

In my view, Skipton Town Council provides an excellent service compared to the other two, at a fraction of the cost.

Just a couple of small examples: look at the lovely garden created with volunteers on Newmarket Street and the Skipton Town Ambassadors – a very cheerful and helpful lot, as visitors to my home have commented.

In recent times, the town council has taken over the running of the market, previously the responsibility of Craven District.

Yet all the work the town council does is from cramped and shabby offices above Barclays Bank with just a handful of staff. their one and only meeting room is small and doubles up as a store room. Not for them the delights of new offices and furniture, plush meeting rooms with all the latest technology, which Craven District enjoys.

Frankly, I think we could usefully do away with Craven District and enhance the town council’s powers to allow them to continue and expand their excellent work for Skipton. It has to be a money saver and we get a better service into the bargain.

JR Rathbone Rockwood Drive Skipton Equality for road users Sir – David Moore’s rather verbose letter in support of cyclists is of course absolutely correct, but perhaps his implied wish for equality should include a logical step towards this.

As with other road vehicles, should not cyclists have by law to carry third party insurance and a registration plate? We may then see fewer cyclists riding on the pavement, ignoring traffic lights, having no lights, warning instruments, etc.

On the question of being allowed to race on the public highway, I make no comment!

Robert Hall Rock House Thornton-in-Craven Rescued by hotel Sir – 420 members of North East England Trefoil Guild (part of Girlguiding UK), attended their annual meeting last Saturday at the Rendezvous Hotel, Skipton.

The Rendezvous Hotel came to our rescue when we were informed six weeks ago that we could not use the town hall due to a structural fault. I would like to thank the staff at the Rendezvous for being so accommodating and helpful to us which made our meeting very successful.

I would also like to thank all the shops and stall holders in Skipton who offered discount to the members shopping in the morning before the meeting and for the donation of raffle prizes.

Margaret Lawson, organiser Church Street Gargrave Welcome visitors Sir – On April 18, mid-morning, I sighted swallows, swifts and housemartins feeding up over Whinnygill Reservoir. On their way inland from the west coast to their nesting grounds this year the migrant birds have had a difficult journey.

Instead of the warm southerly winds behind them the migrants have had to fly into cold north/north-east winds. But these amazing, adaptable birds fly low, following the rivers for food and shelter, to get to their destination.

Food has been scarce due to the flies and insects laying low with the cold winds.

The swifts are back about 10 days early this year. I sighted the swifts flying at approximately 30MPH along Whinnygill Reservoir banks.

These scimitar-winged birds can hurtle through the air at 160MPH if pressed, and can fly more than 600km in a single day – a truly unbelievable feat.

The farming community love the swallow for all sorts of reasons. One Dales farmer told me a few years ago: “When I see the first swallow in the spring it’s time to start thinking about putting cows out to grass.”

Allan Mason Jennygill Crescent, Skipton