Even considering parking fees for village is a 'disgrace'

Most of the users of the parking facilities, including myself, do so on a daily basis, not to park for lengthy periods but for a short stay, to use the local shops and then depart.

To introduce parking fees would result in the majority of us going elsewhere, ie Skipton, Keighley , to purchase our groceries, bread, meat, fruit and veg, etc, depriving our local shops of valued customers.

Cross Hills Main Street is a thriving area for our local businesses, which provide services not only for Cross Hills residents but for all the other outlying villages.

For Craven District Council to even consider introducing parking fees is a disgrace.

Barrie Pearce Hazel Grove Sutton-in-Craven Best start in life Sir - I would like say a massive thank-you to the fantastic staff at Horton-in-Ribblesdale Primary School.

Year Sixes have remained at local primaries for two years and in 2013, and again now in 2014, this small rural school has produced the top results in North Craven.

Sadly, you won’t see this in published data because there has to be at least six pupils in a year to be included in tables. Forty per cent of Year Six children at Horton, received level sixes in their SATS results. This is amazing; the expected average is level four.

These sorts of results are achieved by an excellent and most resourceful staff working in a beautiful setting. The low numbers in each year group allows a teacher-to-pupil ratio closer to that expected in a fee-paying school. This is helped along by the wonderful support staff. There is a dedicated group of parents working to raise funds to cover extras.

I thank all these people for the best start in education we could have wished for for our children. All children deserve such an education.

June Bloom Newhouses Horton-in-Ribblesdale Rail learning curve Sir - In your article about plans being considered for the reinstatement of the Colne to Skipton rail line you mention the Todmorden Curve saying that it hasn’t reopened yet because there are no trains available to run on it.

The latest position is, I am told, that there are trains to run on services over the Todmorden Curve.

So now we have the line and the trains, but unfortunately the new infrastructure installed and which actually allows the trains to run isn’t right and needs corrective work.

Understandably perhaps, Northern Rail are not anxious to have the busy pre and post-Christmas period disrupted by the corrective work needed and have refused access to the line until February next year.

Patience has indeed been a virtue in this instance, but when everything finally comes together in full working order it will be a great day for the future of the whole of Pennine Lancashire.

Perhaps one day we will be able to say the same for the former Colne to Skipton line.

Brian Hobbs Trinity Group Yorke Street Burnley Helpers are thanked Sir - I write to thank the people who gave up their time on Tuesday, September 2, when the wheel of my car collapsed in a very inconvenient place.

It turns out the ball joint had snapped, which left my car parked right in the middle of the junction of Belmont Street and Cavendish Street in Skipton.

Before I had contacted the breakdown service, there was a team of people working to get my car moved off the road and transport arranged for my daughter to get her to work on time.

Thank you to everyone who put their own plans on hold and went out of their way to help out someone in need. You turned a bad experience into a heart-warming one!

The Sawyer family High Bentham Only one solution Sir - Based on your article entitled “Safety move to stop bin men moving wheelie bins is branded as ‘ridiculous’ “, it appears that the HSE have deemed the movement, by trained refuse collectors, of wheelie bins over distances of more than approximately three metres to be unsafe.

Given this situation, it logically follows that any movement of wheelie bins by untrained persons, ie householders, is even less safe.

There can only be one solution to the problem in these circumstances and that is immediately ban the use of wheelie bins completely and for Craven District Council, as the owners of those bins, to immediately remove them from all properties to meet the HSE requirements.

If this is not done, then the council is clearly liable for any accident or injury caused by the use of any bin which they have provided for whatever purpose.

John Bowers Main Street Embsay Plea to ‘protect’ town AT LAST all is revealed… the reason for chopping down 52 (40-year-old trees) on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, October 4 and 5, 2013.

After three consecutive reasons the truth is at last revealed.

We at Rendezvous concentrate our effort on bringing thousands of visitors to Skipton and the Dales to enjoy what is here and willingly pay for it, they will return because they get value for money from the best market town of its type and its surrounding countryside in England.

Residents of Skipton, please help protect what we have been blessed with and stop this activity that goes under the name of so-called progress.

Reasons given by the developers as ‘so called benefits’ as to why Skipton should allow the out-of-town retail outlet to proceed: They say: Provide a £6.5 million investment in Skipton.

I say: Do they want the main road from the south into Skipton to be a beautiful tree-lined road or do they want it to look like Keighley, a satellite of Bradford? Fifty-two trees, 40 ft high being cut down on a main road into Skipton are a loss of public amenity to all the residents and visitors to Skipton and is deplorable.

Out-of-town shopping of any kind will most certainly damage our town-centre shopping - visitors come to Skipton for its independent retail offering alongside the more well-known brand names.

The proposed project will only bring further demise to the town centre. If this development goes through it will act as a superb precedent for other out-of-town retail outlets; we will not be able to stop Sainsbury’s when Henry Boot appeals.

They say: Ensure that Guyson is able to carry out much-needed improvements on the remainder of the factory.

I say: Guyson International can afford to carry out much-needed improvements via funding through normal channels (ie the financial institutions) to fund a viable development without having to destroy the public amenity, ie 52 trees that were 40 ft high and passed (as required) before initial building of the industrial estate could commence.

They say: Create additional employment on the site.

I say: Has Skipton got many skilled precession engineers who are not already employed? I doubt it. They will only attract their engineers from other firms in Skipton or from outside Skipton.

They say: Increase choice and reduce travel time for Skipton shoppers.

I say: Do residents want to sacrifice part of their town centre for the benefit of trailing one mile instead of a few miles to shop at a larger retail centre?

They say: Improve and enhance the overall appearance of the site.

I say: Reasons were given for the removal of the trees 1) That they were removed to erect scaffolding to paint the existing shed 2) That they needed to find a gas leak 3) That the space was required to build another shed.

No one could argue that destroying a row of 52 mature trees would improve the appearance of any site (let alone a row of trees screening the main road from an industrial development) but obviously, the 40ft high screening of trees was not appropriate for a shopping centre.

In conclusion, Skipton was recently voted the ‘Best place to live in the UK – Sunday Times’. Our thanks to the police and residents for our low crime rate, as well as the education authority for maintaining such a good education system.

Most importantly Skipton town itself, quaint/unique with a beautiful high street and market –let’s try and keep it that way!

Malcolm Weaving Rendezvous Hotel Keighley Road Skipton Fishing for the future Sir - I am writing in response to the letter from Maurice Alderley-Park Barbon criticising your journalist JW Preston for daring to mention ledgering for trout (September 4, “Mild rebuke”).

Whilst it is true that fishing with the fly is seen by some, especially those who practise it, to be the purist form of angling, there are several other ancient, traditional and equally worthy methods.

Fortunately in 2014 the angler is able to choose an appropriate method according to location, weather conditions, the state of the river and any EA/club regulations.

Providing it is legal, humane and the person fishing has the necessary EA licence and a permit I do not see any problem with this.

Mr Barbon must realise that some elderly, disabled, or young anglers may not have the strength, skill, agility, cash or inclination to fish the fly.

This type of Stone Age attitude does nothing to encourage youngsters to take up the sport, yet they are the future.

May I respectfully suggest that Maurice joins a more enlightened club?

Malcolm Keighley Hill Rise Skipton Moggy as mascot?

Sir - The picture of my good self in the Craven Herald has prompted me to write with an offer that is too good to refuse for Councillor Whipp of the Barlick Beach.

I propose that my sands of time are reversed and that I become the mascot of Barlick beach. All that Cllr Whipp needs to do is become a Long John Siver and I will deputise as the parrot - after all we are a bit different here. Pieces of eight in Barlick have always been legal currency.

What to do with the rest of the year? Well I could become a “Bob the Cat” for Mr Silver and maybe travel with him on his various duties, watching films, duffing up the opposing political parties and well… just being in all those Focus Newletters, me in front of a bent lamppost looking glum. Doing a bit of pest control, yum yum. I can sleep in the council meetings - I don’t snore!

I can negotiate good terms of employment, a tasty piece of salmon with a chip butty and of course a good pint of felines at t’local pigeon club. Then I can walk down the road meowing at the top of my voice.

Any offers? Meow.

BBC “Barlick Beach Cat”

PP Stewart Lewis Esp Lane Barnoldswick Child charity awards Sir - With a new school year under way, and my youngest just starting school, I’m mindful that there are many parents who have special reasons to feel blessed as their child starts school for the first time.

I support national baby charity Tommy’s, who lead the way in research into prematurity, miscarriage and stillbirth.

In March 2015 I will be hosting the Tommy’s Awards; it’s such an uplifting and inspiring event which I am incredibly proud to be a part of.

We will be celebrating heroes - be it a friend, midwife, grandparent, or partner - who have helped mums and dads through a tough road to becoming a parent.

Nominations are now open until November 11 and both Tommy’s and myself are calling on parents to make a nomination and say thank you to those family heroes by visiting tommys.org/awards Please do what you can to support Tommy’s and the awards.

Thanks so much.

Katy Hill Tommy’s London Faces sum it up Sir - The expressions on the faces of the people on the cover of the September 4 edition in the ice bucket challenge say it all. Two smug “tee-hee”s and two horrified “Waaah!! That’s cold”s. Priceless.

Sam Moore Cornholme Terrace Todmorden Investing in youth Sir - Over the past 18 months The Boys’ Brigade has opened 53 new companies across England, with over 1,200 new members and 550 adult volunteers taking its UK membership to over 65,000.

To enable us to do this and offer young people the best possible start in life, we rely on external investment through a range of funding streams, including the Government’s Uniformed Youth Social Action Fund, which recently announced that The Boys’ Brigade is to receive over £840,000.

This investment is most welcome and will enable us to continue to reach out to and support more young people, particularly in deprived areas or hard to reach communities.

We estimate that the funding, to be distributed through the Youth United Foundation, will create 1,695 additional places for young people in The Boys’ Brigade over the next 18 months, where they can access a range of opportunities to develop relevant life skills and take part in fun and challenging activities.

Investing in our young people is vital in providing them with the best opportunity for a better future.

Eric Hudson Director for England The Boys’ Brigade Hemel Hempstead