Letters to the editor

This can be achieved by constructing an island in the centre of the A629 to prevent ALL traffic of whichever direction from right turning.

Yes. I appreciate that this would create some inconvenience to some of our road users (including myself) but it would significantly improve safety.

There are alternative ways of proceeding in whichever direction the motorist wishes to go. Some will increase journey times and distances, but not significantly.

Turning right is one of the most dangerous manoeuvres performed on our roads, so I believe this could be the way forward for a fairly small cost.

Phil Dore Kirkby Malham Litter pickers thanked Sir – I want to pass on my thanks to Alan Wade (Letters, April 24) for clarifying the issue of fly tipping in such a gracious manner. His clarification was most welcome and I was unaware of the previous notification of this event.

I would like to go further & congratulate Alan and his colleagues for clearing the rubbish and applaud their direct action, an example of community spirit in action.

Roy Harvey Carleton A shopping parable Sir – Fifty paces are all that separate the doors of the Gargrave Co-op and the local newsagent. But that distance, it seems, has been too far to walk for many visitors and villagers in order to buy their newspapers, magazines, comics or greetings cards.

It obviously became too easy to buy papers etc. with groceries rather than walk that short distance so as to support a small independent business.

About nine years ago, the Co-op suddenly started to sell the very items I have just listed.

A meeting that I had with a senior manager elicited the statement that they would not continue to sell them if there proved to be no demand. A separate assurance was made that the Gargrave branch would not sell The Craven Herald & Pioneer.

But within a very little time, that’s exactly what they started to do. Clearly, therefore, those 50 paces proved to be a key factor in draining much of the key business from the small independent newsagent which will now cease trading on May 3rd, At least in part, the closure of this small shop illustrates what happens when a large store starts encroaching upon their business by selling the same stock in direct, localised competition.

Ethical trading, it seems, means nothing in pursuit of profit.

It is also worth wondering how many visitors or villagers who profess regret at the loss of Gargrave’s only newsagent will be the same people for whom 50 paces were too far to walk.

And does this little story strike you as being something akin to a modern parable in light of the effects that might very well accrue for traders in Skipton if the proposal to open a Sainsburys as part of the Wyvern Business Park does eventually get a green light?

Alan Sturgess Eshton Road Gargrave Memories of family Sir – I would like to hear from anyone (but in particular surviving members of) who may remember or have information about the Procter family, who lived in Victorian days and the last century at Rylstone, Hetton and Cracoe, near Skipton.

I am an amateur military historian intending to write an article for a magazine. I have used the usual sources, Google, the Craven Herald and military sites like CWGC. However, first or second-hand local knowledge is always welcome.

I am particularly interested in the following members of the family: William Atkinson and his wife Rebecca (Victoria to George V), John Norman (KIA 1918 with the West Riding Regiment), his brother Robert George and wife Violet (died 1956 and 1976 her) and their son Richard (1918 to 1941). He was accidentally killed in a motorbike accident in 1941 near Alnwick whilst serving in the Territorials.

All letters will be treated in confidence and replied to. In particular I am very short of family photos, although I have taken many of Rylstone in the churchyard during a holiday visit.

Mr W Hannam, “Postboys”, Sedlescombe, near Battle, East Sussex.

TN33 0QF.

Showing due respect Sir – The Christ Church grounds and burial grounds are looking picturesque.

The flowering bulbs and cherry tree blossoms make the ground’s burial sites a colourful picture.

The church wardens, gardeners and the grasscutting team do an excellent job in keeping the grounds and burial sites clean and tidy.

Blackbirds, rooks, garden birds and field birds are preparing their nesting sites in the church grounds and buildings. Despite the notices on the church gates a minority of dog walkers are still abusing the church grounds.

Last week I saw a dog off leash running over the Duke of Wellington’s and Royal Navy Seafarers’ plaques.

When I confronted the owner he apologised and replied: “I’ve got a doggy bag.”

That’s not the point. Dogs should be kept on a short leash and at heel when in religious grounds.

OK, dog walkers-owners you may say the Lord God loves all animals. True, but I am quite sure the Lord God never intended the dog walkers-owners to let their dogs run loose in churchyards or cemetery grounds.

After all, when you walk through churchyard cemetery gates you are treading on sacred ground, which should be respected.

Allan Mason Jennygill Crescent, Skipton Fears over fracking Sir – Fracking away our Future is the theme of a discussion in Skipton at the Black Horse pub at 7.30 on Tuesday 13th May. Do come along if you care about our future.

Our MP, Julian Smith, says he does. He talks with pride in his 2013 report of Protecting Rural Yorkshire, specifically by supporting communities opposing windfarm developments.

He tells me that fracked shale gas “is a promising energy resource” and in the same letter that “safety is the top priority of the government”. None of this adds up.

The disruption to the landscape, the environment and to peoples’ lives caused by windfarms is nothing compared to what fracking would bring: constant lorry traffic bringing in water and chemicals, 24-hour pumping operations, noisy and floodlit, hundreds of wells sunk across Yorkshire for a resource that can be tapped only over a couple of years; toxic by-products.

But much more importantly, our safety but most of all that of our children, is at threat by this dash for gas. Worldwide, we know about five times more fossil fuel than we can afford to bring to the surface without causing climate and environment destruction on a scale we have only begun to glimpse.

There really is no substitute for investing in energy saving and in using renewable energy resources.

This is what will keep Rural Yorkshire safe. Do come and join the discussion Annie Neligan, GreenParty Pye Busk Bentham It’s vital for voting Sir– On Thursday, May 22, European Parliamentary elections and 13 local elections are taking place across Yorkshire and Humber region.

It’s crucial in the run-up to the elections that the public know how to exercise their right to vote.

Whether you’ve already decided who to vote for or are still thinking about how to cast your vote, there’s one vital step you need to take.

You need to register to vote now as time is running out. The deadline for registration is Tuesday, May 6.

Why does this matter? If you’re not registered by the deadline then you won’t be able to have your say on election day. You must be on the current electoral roll in order to cast a vote.

Our research shows that 44 per cent of people who are not registered to vote mistakenly believe they are. Many people believe that if they are registered to pay council tax then they are automatically registered to vote. This just isn’t true.

Registering to vote is free, easy to do and only takes a few minutes. Visit www.aboutmyvote.co.uk and print off a registration form, fill in your details and send it back to the local Electoral Registration Officer.

Remember: it’s your vote, don’t lose it! Jenny Watson Chair, The Electoral Commission Tom Riordan Regional Returning Officer Yorkshire and the Humber End this ward ‘conflict’ Sir – I recently received a communication which described how Silsden and Steeton with Eastburn are working together on the Neighbourhood Plan.

This joint initiative was endorsed by one of our local councillors as an excellent example of local communities working together for the good of all.

I only wish that our local councillors in the Craven ward co-operated together using the same principle.

For the last two years they have been in conflict and as a result there has been no working together for the benefit of our community.

It is time for a change and the local elections on May 22 give us the opportunity to think again about who we want to represent us on Bradford Council.

We have not had a woman councillor for a long time and a young person, perhaps never. Now is the time to put this right. I urge the people of Silsden to reject petty squabbling and vote for a fresh start, which will really be for the good of all.

Wendy Neville Bradley Drive Silsden Opening floodgates Sir – So the government thinks that plain packaging for cigarettes is the answer to adolescents taking up smoking.

How I wish it were that simple. It is certainly not a habit to be recommended and I agree that youngsters need to be discouraged from smoking.

But I don’t believe plain packets will achieve that aim. And the danger is it will open the floodgates for counterfeit cigarettes, which have totally uncontrolled content and can be even more dangerous to health.

We still live, just about, in a free society where people have the right to make their own choices and I do not want to see our freedoms further eroded.

What next, plain bottles for booze and brown paper bags for sweets?

Jane Collins, Prospective UKIP MEP for Yorkshire & North Lincs, Main Road, Newport, New Brough Four-course fundraiser Sir – For readers who, like me, love nothing more than hitting the golf course, I have the perfect summer challenge.

On June 13, hundreds of golfers will tee off as the sun rises and in teams of four, attempt to play four courses before it sets – 72 holes, 15 miles of fairway.

By joining them and taking on the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign’s Four Course Classic event, you can help the charity fund vital medical research and support for 70,000 families in UK living with rare muscle-wasting conditions.

There are great courses near you taking part and chances to win fantastic prizes, so gather friends – or rivals – and prepare for some serious golf. You could help to change lives.

To find out more visit fourcourseclassic.co.uk, e-mail golf@muscular-dystrophy.org or call 020 7803 4824.

Sam Torrance OBE Budget bad for OAPs Sir – Pensioners lost out badly as a result of the Osborne Budget this year. His cut in grant to North Yorkshire was £10 million (more in city areas).

In consequence, the subsidy to our county’s bus services, much-used by pensioners, have been cut by 25 per cent.

The effects are bad for us all, especially those without a car. More pensioners and others using cars cause more traffic jams, slower journeys, and more expense for everyone on the roads, including business traffic.

Greater expense on cars means less money to spend in shops. If our 350,000 council tax payers had been asked to spend an average of £3 per year more , no cut this year would have been needed. The extra use of cars will cost us all far more than £3 in 2014-15. This obvious response was not allowed by the Government.

North Yorkshire have also had to cut spending on social care for the elderly and disabled by £1million this year. This is shameful when the numbers of elderly are rising especially fast here. Lack of social care causes strain on caring families and extra demands for GPs and community nurses.

Many have to be admitted to hospital, or cannot be discharged for lack of social care at home. Apparently the aim of government policy is to make our NHS less efficient.

Your readers may be shocked to read that the budget for children’s services has been cut this year by £2 million.

This has been done despite 75 per cent more children in North Yorkshire being referred for child protection since 2011,and 16 per cent more children needing to be looked after here. Part of the reductions in spending has been in services to disabled children.

Our local county councillor told us many more local government cuts are planned by Osborne to continue over the next five years.

Bob Holland Skipton Road Cononley Planning policy attack Sir – In an interview with a national newspaper, the chairman of the National Trust, Sir Simon Jenkins, was highly critical of the Government’s planning policy and the negative impact this was having on our villages.

Sir Simon continues by noting that the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF): “...was written by developers, many of whom are large donors to the Conservative Party. This is like putting the poachers in charge of the prison”.

As I read this, the proposed industrial estate next to the Waltonways Cemetery came to mind. I, for one, agree that our brownfield sites should be redeveloped before any consideration is given to greenfield sites.

Perhaps one step is to equalise the different VAT regimes (builders have to pay 20 per cent VAT when they convert factories into flats, but newbuild sites are VAT-free.).

The article also stated that: “Sir Simon...wants the NPPF to be redrawn to write in protections of rural views from wind farms and other rural monstrosities. Greater protections for countryside views (Sir Simon is quoted) should be a part of the planning guidance.

“I honestly don’t think it was written by anybody who looks at a landscaped view.”

I wonder what Sir Simon would make of the wind turbines that have been proposed and already installed all over the Craven district?

Keith Dickinson White Hill Lane Lothersdale Back the volunteers Sir – Imagine not seeing another person for days on end, only having the TV for company and never having anyone ask, “are you ok?” or “would you like a cup of tea?”. This is the reality for many older people across Britain.

Please support Royal Voluntary Service’s Great Brew Break by inviting your friends, family or colleagues for a cuppa and a chat this week and make a donation so we can help more lonely older people stay independent.

Royal Voluntary Service volunteers provide a vital lifeline for older people across Great Britain, whether that’s help after a stay in hospital, a visit to a Royal Voluntary Service community centre or just a simple cuppa and chat at home.

Please visit www.royalvoluntaryservice. org.uk/brewbreak for more information about how to hold a Great Brew Break event and downloadable resources. You can also donate while having your cuppa by texting BREW42 £2 to 70070.

With your help Royal Voluntary Service can reach out to many more isolated older people in your community. Best wishes and I raise my best mug of tea to you.

Carol Nevison Head of operations for the north Royal Voluntary Service Visit to the battlefields Sir – Monday, August 4, 2014, marks the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War.

On August 4 until Saturday, August 9, I will lead a coach party from the north of England to the First World War battlefields in Belgium and France. En route, we will visit the Shuttleworth Collection of First World War aircraft. In London, we will have dinner in the Lloyd George Room in Whitehall and hear the chimes of Big Ben at 11pm, marking the centenary.

We will also visit the tomb of the unknown warrior, the cenotaph and the special centenary exhibition at the Imperial War Museum. In Belgium, we will visit Mons, where the British Army fired the first (and the last) shots in the war. We will follow the retreat of the Old Contemptibles’ from Mons through Le Cateau, Landrecies, St Quentin, to the Marne. We will see the Armistice carriage at Compiegne, visit the grave of Wilfred Owen, see the trench lines of the Somme and Flanders, and attend the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate.

We will visit sites associated with the northern regiments and a full explanation will be given of particular battles and events. It will be possible to pay personal respects by visiting a family member’s grave or memorial.

We have a few places left and I will be happy to supply full details, by writing to me at 2, Eden Gate, Warcop, Appleby in Westmorland, CA16 6PL, telephone 01768 341060, mobile 07710 270640.

David Raw Appleby-in-Westmorland