Danger fears over Skipton car park's busy entrance

On busy market days, particularly in the afternoons, this narrow thoroughfare is thronged with people and vehicles, in very close proximity.

There is a narrow pavement, on one side only, which means that wheelchairs, pushchairs and mobility scooters have no safe passage.

With the opening of the new stores people tend not to cross to the side with a limited pavement, and as a result fill both sides of the road, and very often the middle as well.

Perhaps visitors to Skipton assume that this is a pedestrianised area (it certainly looks like it at times).

When you take into account the size of the coaches and huge delivery lorries edging their way through, it leaves very little room for pedestrians, who almost have to cling limpet-like to the sides.

In my opinion it is quite remarkable that we have not yet had a serious accident, with a pedestrian gravely injured Now we have the first-phase work on the town hall due to start in October, with a new entrance to the being built off Jerry Croft. This surely will increase traffic and make a bad situation worse.

I accept that in making these comments I put forward no solutions to the various problems, but the existing proximity of pedestrians to traffic is dangerous. At the least could not signs be put up asking pedestrians le one side, which has a pavement of sorts. And please, no more building work!

Patricia Margaret Chiles Moorview Way Skipton Blue badge ‘blame’ Sir - As chairman of the Skipton & Craven Branch of the MS Society I would like to reply to Mr Dent’s provocative letter in the Craven Herald last week about traffic congestion and his comments about people being “lucky enough” to own a blue badge.

I should like to ask him: Is it lucky if you will never walk again? Or are blind and will never see? Have a terminal illness with only months to live? Or are parent to a severely disabled child?

These are the types of people eligible for a blue badge. The rules for getting a Blue Badge are very strict and for the sake of Mr Dent and his family I hope he never becomes “lucky enough” to qualify for one.

Mr Dent’s callous tirade against the “blue badge tyranny” is flawed in so many ways. First: in Mr Dent’s photo of Skipton High Street it’s not clear how many of the parked cars are in fact “blue badge”. It’s wrong to assume all of them are.

Second: Many blue badge holders, especially those who need wheelchairs, are reluctant to park on double yellow lines because of the risks posed by passing traffic as they get in and out of their car.

Third: If pedestrians in Skipton’s High Street or Swadford Street are fearful of crossing where a blue dadge car is parked, they can use the pelican crossings instead.

Fourth: The Department of Transport states very clearly that: “The blue badge is not a licence to park anywhere. If you park where it would cause an obstruction or danger to other road users you could be fined or have your vehicle removed.”

If this is contravened, traffic wardens would have no hesitation in issuing a fine – as they already do in Skipton, blue badge or not.

So Mr Dent, please don’t blame blue badge holders for traffic congestion, and don’t think they are “lucky”.

Brian Moffat Chairman, Skipton & Craven Branch, MS Society Safety concerns Sir - I am writing to support the letter sent by Adrian Dent with regard to parking on the double yellow lines on the High Street in Skipton.

For some time I have had serious concerns about the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and road users when cars are parked on the yellow lines by disabled drivers.

As AD said, the fact there are yellow lines on the road in the first place would indicate that it is an unsafe place to park. If a friend or relative of mine was disabled the last place I would want them to park would be the High Street, where they have to get out of their car into the traffic - often when they have mobility issues. It is ludicrous.

At the same time, the market stallholders’ vans are also dangerous when parked on the High Street during the day. Importantly they are also an absolute eyesore!

On a more positive note I am pleased that the parking on the setts looks as though it is being resolved. I also understand there is now a ‘pop and shop’ parking facility in the Town Hall Car Park, which is a decent 20p for half an hour. As a resident of Skipton who works in Harrogate I find I spend my money in Harrogate and not Skipton (where I would prefer to spend it) as the accessibility to the shops is much better there.

Joanne Fisher Rockville Drive Embsay Check the rules Sir - It is a shame that Mr Adrian Dent did not look up the regulations regarding the use of a blue badge before writing his letter. The Department of Transport gives clear guidance to users as to when and where they should be used.

They can be used on double yellow lines for up to three hours but not where there is a loading restriction (yellow mark on kerbstone perpendicular to the road) or in other places such as the zig-zag lines near a pedestrian crossing. So blue badge holders in his photograph are not ignoring parking regulations.

Mr Dent may have noticed that the walking journeys from larger car parks in Skipton to the High Street are not trivial for anyone with a walking difficulty. From Coach Street there is a cobbled road, from Cavendish Street a bridge over the canal; the High Street car park journey is better but can be busy with narrow pavements.

If Mr Dent dislikes the parking along High Street at busy times he should address local councils or the Department of Transport rather than accuse blue badge holders of tyranny.

In his photograph there are two cars passing what appears to be without restriction and the island in the foreground as well as the pedestrian crossing near Otley Street are safe places to cross with or without parked cars.

Mr Dent should celebrate he does not need a blue badge as it may not always be thus.

Graeme Hitchen High Bank Bradley I don’t call it ‘lucky’ Sir - With reference to “Blue badge tyranny”. I know parking in Skipton is difficult.

But Adrian Dent states: “Lucky enough to own blue badges.”

Call it lucky? I don’t, when you are in constant pain, and struggle to walk even a few feet.

Mr Dent, I hope it never happens to you.

J Radford Earby Close parking is vital Sir - With reference to Adrian Dent’s letter in last week’s Herald, I am one of the ‘lucky’ (his words) people who have a blue badge.

I have to use a wheelchair to get out and about, and the ability to park near a destination is a godsend. People with disabilities do not just pop out to shops, banks, etc. It requires planning and often assistance from friends and family, who themselves are often older people.

Vehicles half parked on pavements, and other obstacles such as bins, a lack of dropped kerbs or rough surfaces make close parking vital.

Nor can ordinary parking bays be used, as they are not wide enough to allow wheelchair or walking frames down the side of a car.

In conclusion, let me assure Mr Dent he is the lucky one!

Anthony Gibson Glaisdale Close Silsden Debate is welcome Sir - I welcome the discussions and initiatives on parking issues – at last.

As a resident for 50 years, and owner of a retail business for 14 of those, the accolades of Skipton being ‘the best place to live’, and ‘best High Street’ have been a source of irritation and frustration. Skipton is most unwelcoming when residents are deterred from using local shops due to parking rules. Town car parks are not convenient for a one-shop stop.

We need to feel safe from threats and penalties from traffic wardens. I feel sad for the business that lost £100 recently when a visitor passing through was barred from making a quick purchase due to lack of a parking bay.

Yes, other towns do have them, why not Skipton? Can someone explain the problem of parking discs for use in short-term parking areas? They don’t seem to be rocket science.

Many thanks to Councillor Robert Heseltine and others who are supporting initiatives.

Mrs Rita Barsby Uplands Skipton Health innovations Sir - I was very interested to read your article about the three associate physicians at the Fisher Medical Centre. I think that the practice has been very forward looking in appointing the associate physicians. Very few practices in the country have taken this step.

The article mentioned that it is not often that Skipton can be said to be at the forefront of innovation.

Most of your readers will probably be unaware that the Fisher Medical Practice, which was originally in Otley Street, was one of the first group practices in the country. It was established in a central specially adapted surgery in 1939 by my father (Dr G A Fisher) Dr G Ollerenshaw and Dr J Goodall.

The practice featured in a book about the early days of the NHS and also was on a television programme “On Call for the Nation”.

Brian Fisher Garth House Cononley Think again on birds Sir - Doesn’t Skipton Town Council have more important things to do than decide how many birds can be kept on an allotment?

It was not long ago that I was reading about Ashley winning medals, etc, and how much he had achieved despite having Down’s Syndrome. I have an eight-year-old grandson who also has Down’s Syndrome, and I remember thinking maybe he will one day have a hobby which will enable him to achieve things, as Ashley has done.

We should be supporting these children/adults, not making life more difficult than it already is. Come on Skipton Town Council, think again. Please?

Mrs M Kissane Darnbrook Road Barnoldswick Planning frustrations Sir - In recent months, your newspaper has featured many articles on local major housing development proposals within Craven District. This has in included proposals for the villages of Embsay with Eastby.

In many of your articles, the frustrations of local residents are highlighted and a presumption made that a parish council’s objections to a major planning application carries significant weight with a local planning authority. I, and my fellow councillors, only wish this was the case.

A parish council is merely one of many independent statutory consultees on a planning application. While they may raise objections and express concerns these are no more significant than those of other statutory consultees nor, indeed, local residents of a village.

Embsay with Eastby Parish Council therefore encourages local residents to submit their own comments and concerns directly to the planning authority and not rely solely on the view and actions of their parish council. We have been told by both local planning authorities that residents’ views are of equal importance and carry equal weight.

It is also the case that if a major development proposal meets all legal and statutory requirements and planning conditions, then no amount of local objections on a planning application can stop such a development from proceeding.

While Embsay with Eastby Parish Council listens and then considers the views of local residents, it also recognises that in objecting to major planning applications, it is beneficial for the whole of the community to seek independent professional advice. Sometimes views obtained from an independent planning consultant, based on ‘material planning considerations’, are contrary to the views and feelings of some local residents.

I hope this contextual background may help alleviate some of the frustrations and irritation local residents may have in villages throughout our district when a major land development proposal has been approved by the planning authority despite protestations from local residents and their parish council.

Cllr Gillian Quinn Chairman Embsay with Eastby Parish Council Paths action now Sir - It is wonderful to read in the Craven Herald that Craven District Council and Sustrans have new plans for the towpath. The Green Party strongly supports safe off-road provision for bikes and pedestrians.

But the cost estimated, £6.5 million, has soared since the last estimates I saw. This may mean that expensive changes to the canal at Niffany, in order to provide a towpath, are still included.

The problem is that in these vast plans, where funding may be a dream, the urgent need to tackle local problems in Skipton is going to be lost.

Users submitted a petition two years ago, with the aid of the local Green Party, asking for immediate improvements. Residents of Broughton Road also submitted more than 100 letters in support of the last application for resurfacing, by Connecting the Dales.

They want the canalside surfaced from Aireville Park as far as Sawley Street, so that students and residents do not have to wade through mire - surely a fairly cheap thing to do.

The stretch at the rear of Belle Vue Mills, used by over 1,000 people a day, needs drainage improvements because it is a pond after rain. The lights put in by a council project in 2000 are still not back on despite Canal and River Trust offering to repair them if the council would pay maintenance thereafter, as they should have done from the start.

The towpath is in an abysmal state near the Rendezvous, and the owner has offered to assist with improvements there. The stretch to the hospital needs fresh rolled gravel in places.

Big projects take time, and may never happen. Modest improvements are needed now.

Claire Nash Skipton & Craven Green Party Hall Croft Skipton Deserving our support Sir - I write in support of the Skipton Ladies Choir, who celebrate their 25th anniversary with a special concert this autumn, but who were also singing in the concert taking place on September 20, at 7.30, in Christ Church, Skipton, in support of the Beamsley Project.

Having moved to Skipton comparatively recently, I find it has a wonderful selection of cultural activities in its various halls and churches around the area, as well as good businesses, and also tourist attractions. All a part of being noted as the best place to live in the UK, no doubt.

I attended the July concert of Skipton Ladies Choir (Sing it, Swing It!) in their usual venue at Skipton Baptist Church.

It was excellent both in standard and in the wide variety of music being offered. The church being situated at the top end of the big Skipton public car park - parking free after 6pm - and on a beautiful sunny evening, I expected it to be well supported.

It was not, which was a great pity for there was plenty for everyone to enjoy - including the plentiful buffet of savouries and delicious cakes, and tea and coffee, all a part of the price of the ticket. Concessions are available.

The repertoire included “It don’t mean a thing” - Duke Ellington; pieces by Henry Purcell and Lennon and McCartney; and songs from Frank Loesser’s “Hans Christian Anderson”, too, in which the audience were invited to join.

Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” which I have on CD, sung both as a classical piece by Katherine Jenkins, and by Neil Diamond in his own inimitable style (almost as a Negro spiritual) - this item, the choir sang in part-harmonies.

Visiting musicians took part in a flute duet; and also in the piano duet ,which was performed by two teenagers who recently took prizes in the local music festival.

The spoken word was not forgotten. These were interpreted in a lively manner, and where relevant, with humour.

I enjoyed it very much and hope when I attend the 25th anniversary concert, yet to be announced, I shall find every ticket sold. The choir deserve our support.

Diana P Halliday Malham Court Silsden