A few reasons for staying silent

My late parents instilled in myself two principles with respect to the resignation of the leader of Craven District Council, which was not entirely voluntary but followed an ultimatum from his political members.

Firstly, that if I was unable to find anything good to say about a person then to say nothing at all and secondly having read the leader’s resignation statement that “self praise is no recommendation”.

During his leadership, nearly 100 employees of Craven Council have had their jobs terminated. Of course, not the highly paid top officers but those who really did depend on their wage for the family budget.

Since 2010, the national coalition government has slashed 40 per cent funding from local government. Services slimmed, services lost and in the case of refuse collection, a dedicated hard-working workforce miserly and dangerously put at risk through lack of care, consideration and cost and corner cutting.

Now at last having sight of the Health and Safety document and its damning overriding conclusions we now know why the political leadership at Craven were so reluctant to let it see the light of day.

Innumerable people have stopped me in the street and asked me if the good news is true, that Craven Council is to have, hopefully, a new enlightened leader? I explained of course this could mean a new beginning or we would just jump from the frying pan into the fire and get a Knowles-Fitton Mark Two. Time will tell.

The general response from the public appears to be: “Alleluia, let the church bells ring out across Craven.”

Councillor Robert Heseltine, Newmarket Street, Skipton.

Sir - Well, well, well, police and crime commissioner Mulligan has got her wish, the closure of police cells in Skipton.

She states ‘significant savings required’ as the reason.

I wonder if she has considered standing down, having not achieved a great deal in her position.

Now that would be a significant saving, and as a bonus she could join Chris Knowles-Fitton in Devon.

G Bewes, Castle Street, Skipton, Sir - I would like to say a big thank you to Settle College, Craven PRS and Horton-in-Ribblesdale Primary.

My son managed to break his ankle playing football during the summer holidays, as the break was so severe he had to undergo two operations and not bear weight for nearly eight weeks. This meant he was unable to return to school at the beginning of the autumn term. I made contact with Settle College via email and informed them that the hospital advised him not to attend school for the first five weeks of term. I received a phone call from Settle College the very next day and to my surprise Mr Kaye (assistant principal) knew who my son was, for good reasons, I think, the school wanted to offer as much help as possible. Little did I know how hard these teachers work. We were sent emails of lesson plans, some of which I have delivered myself.

A medical service was also set in place through school and delivered by Craven PRS. I must say this has worked really well as my son has been able to do a mixture of home and school learning supported by Mr Hughes (Craven PRS) and staff at Settle College.

Having a child fall ill or have an accident really knocks you for six, all these thoughts tumble through your head. Will they be able to go back to school? How will they cope? Will they ever be able to catch up?

All our children have attended Horton-in-Ribblesdale Primary School and the older two have now moved onto Settle College. Being in a smaller school environment, I believe, has helped build their confidence and give excellent learning. This standard would be expected if attending a fee paying school not a council funded one.

And I need not have worried at this stage either as my son seems to be coping very well, smaller schools mean pupils know each other and most importantly the staff know the pupils which makes a real difference and this can really boost confidence and learning potentials – please bare this in mind when choosing which school your child attends, big isn’t always best.

Rachel Wilson, Selside.

Sir - It was good to see coverage of the forthcoming Christmas lights switch-on in last week’s Herald. Unfortunately, the photo caption named me as manager of “Skipton Market Partnership”, rather than “Skipton Town Partnership”. I thought I’d write to correct this, and also take the opportunity to clarify why Skipton BID is now known as Skipton Town Partnership.

As some of your readers will know, BID is an acronym for Business Improvement District. This is a defined area within which businesses pay a levy in order to fund projects within the district’s boundaries. Skipton BID still exists: the area itself, and also Skipton BID Ltd, the not-for-profit company responsible for delivering the BID objectives. These are legal labels that won’t change.

However, the team behind Skipton BID Ltd is now known as the Skipton Town Partnership. The new name reflects how the BID has widened in scope to include key local stakeholders (Skipton Building Society, Craven College, Craven District Council, Skipton Town Council, Skipton Chamber of Trade and Commerce) alongside local business owners. The partners share a common aim: a successful, sustainable Skipton economy. By working together to oversee the BID initiative we’re stronger: we can share resources, avoid duplication of effort, and make levy-payers’ money go further.

Since I took on the role of manager earlier this year, I’ve talked to lots of local businesses, residents and visitors about the project and found many of them were unclear about what “BID” stands for. Instead “Skipton Town Partnership” does what it says on the tin! It’s a partnership of Skipton businesses and organisations working together to support, promote and enhance Skipton’s economy, using the funds generated by the BID levy. In its first few months, the partnership has provided grants towards a variety of events and initiatives that will benefit Skipton in the short and long term, and add to funds provided from other sources. These include Skipton in Bloom, the Business Crime Reduction Partnership, the Town Centre Ambassador Scheme, Tour de France celebrations, Skipton Camerata, Yarndale 2014, Yuletide Festival 2014, Skipton Car Show 2015, Skipton Puppet Festival 2015 - and of course this year’s fantastic Christmas lights! We hope lots of people will join us on November 27, and enjoy the lights, the entertainment and the late-night shopping – supported by Skipton Town Partnership with BID levy-payers’ money.

Mary Arber, Manager, Skipton Town Partnership.

Sir - We have had yet another accident in Long Preston involving a car mounting the pavement.

This is not the first in this area of the village - on one occasion a car mounted the pavement and ended up on its roof.

Over the years there have been numerous accidents.

At the pedestrian crossing, one involved a wagon failing to stop, careering over the Maypole Green and coming to rest on the war memorial, two incidents of cars crashing and demolishing the safety railings and one involving my stepdaughter being knocked down by a car. She was laid in the road for about an hour.

On admission to Airedale she was found to have damage to her spine and leg, she was laid up for a number of weeks, luckily she made a full recovery.

Forget the statistics that NYCC work to, we can all see this is a ticking bomb. Is an answer going to be found before someone is killed.

Chris Moorby, The Green, Long Preston.

Sir - It was good to read the article about poppies in last week’s Craven Herald. Why not wear a white poppy along with your red one, declaring your desire to work for peace?

You can obtain them by phoning 01756 700565, or from me outside Craven Court on Fridays between 9.40am and 10.40am.

Major Alan Hickman, Salvation Army, Skipton.

Sir, - I was interested to read Patricia Margaret Chiles’ letter regarding the dangerous situation for both pedestrian and vehicle drivers in Jerry Croft. The Skipton Civic Society has been concerned about this problem ever since the proposal for new shops behind the Town Hall was mooted.

At the time of the planning application for this development, the Civic Society’s fears for road safety in the area were made known to the council and indeed the scheme was rejected on many counts.

The developers, as we all know, appealed against the decision and the Government inspector decided to uphold the appeal based on all the evidence set before him. This was despite the council’s highway and transport adviser stating that the proposed development would lead to issues of highway safety along Jerry Croft.

Thankfully, to date, there have been no accidents in the area, though since the completion of the project, the Civic Society has been actively attempting to improve the safety situation in communications with the council’s representative, even so far as tentatively suggesting that Jerry Croft be fully pedestrianised by restricting vehicular access to the car park and shops from the east only.

This seemed to work when Jerry Croft was closed to traffic during the repainting of the south façade of the Town Hall. One can only hope that any final solution to safety in the area can be achieved without further delay.

Barry Rawson, Park Street, Skipton.

Sir - As parish councils and interested parties review a draft of Craven’s Local Plan, I’d like to question the foundation of the plan: that “growth” is an unqualified good. It is the central guiding tenet, the rock upon which the future of Craven is built. But as is shown by the recent example of a struggling Tesco having to mothball or cancel new “big box” stores, the “rock” of expansion and grow-or-die doctrine looks more like being made of sand. And quicksand at that. Hopefully this will put the final nail in the coffin of plans to impose yet another big box superstore, Sainsbury’s, on Skipton.

The Plan calls for “sustainable development”, “reduced energy demand [as] a top priority”, promoting bio-diversity as well as creating better paid jobs and a healthy, “green” environment. All good. But it doesn’t say how to achieve these things except via . . . growth, aka building houses and businesses. Is, for instance, Skipton going to grow larger forever and ever? When does one call a halt to growth? When Skipton meets Settle?

The Plan states: “Growth in housing, business and other land-uses will be accompanied by growth in biodiversity”. This is a contradiction in terms. It’s impossible. And a recipe for disaster.

Shoppers are abandoning the big superstores for a number of reasons.

They want to save money due to austerity measures; they are eating and wasting less food; they want to shop locally and buy local produce. Generally there is a reduction in consumption and a concern about consuming. People are anxious about the future and do not see endless economic growth (in its current pattern) as inevitable or even desirable.

If Craven District Council are serious about protecting and enhancing our environment, reducing carbon emissions - there is no strategy to locate or generate alternative, renewable sources of energy - then they will have to do more than unthinkingly repeat the outdated mantra of grow, grow, grow. They are still, unfortunately, in thrall to a business model which will only produce more expensive housing, less green fields, more traffic and pollution, and high energy consumption. An insane future.

Bruce McLeod, Otterburn Parish Chair.

Sir - The National Institute for Clinical and Health Excellence (NICE) has ruled that everyone with a 10 per cent risk of developing heart disease should be advised to take statins regularly. Readers may be interested to learn that this has sparked a major controversy in the medical journals.

The effect of this recommendation is that virtually everyone over the age of 50 years will be offered the drug. This is because even the fittest, healthiest individual has a 10 per cent chance that death, when it comes, will be related to heart disease. NICE itself accepts that 77 people must be on statins for three years in order that one person benefits. Its spokesman, Mark Baker states that claims of many adverse side-effects are simply not true.

On the other hand there is growing opposition to the stance taken by NICE within the medical profession, which is led by Sir Richard Thompson, president of the Royal College of Physicians and Dr Clare Gerada, a former chair of the Royal College of GPs. Recently this group wrote to NICE and the Minster for Health, Jeremy Hunt, outlining their concerns. The key points included: • There is a lack of reliable evidence to demonstrate that when statins are used for primary prevention (ie for people who have not had heart disease) there is any reduction in all-cause mortality • There is sound evidence that statins do cause adverse side-effects, which include muscle pain, cognitive impairment and erectile dysfunction. Women on statins have a 48 per cent increased risk of developing diabetes.

• As eight out of the 12 members of the NICE committee which made the recommendation on statins have financial links with the pharmaceutical companies producing the statins, there are genuine concerns about conflicts of interest.

Furthermore, in a recent survey of 511 GPs conducted by the magazine Pulse, it was found that 57 per cent oppose the plan to lower the current 10-year risk threshold for primary prevention from 20 per cent to 10. Only 25 per cent would support the proposals. It was also highly significant that 55 per cent would not personally take a statin or recommend a family member to do so, based on 10 per cent risk.

An analysis of the results of trials to evaluate statins, shows that most of these studies have been conducted on men. Although there are fundamental differences between men and women in the way they respond to drugs, there is no convincing evidence that statins have any beneficial effect in women.

It is very difficult to see why anyone, who has not experienced heart disease would agree to go on statins. If a person wishes to improve health generally, then regular exercise, such as walking one mile per day, will undoubtedly be at least as effective as any medication. There will be virtually no side-effects.

I have requested our MP, Julian Smith, to raise this issue with Parliamentary committees.

Verner Wheelock, Binns Lane Farm, Glusburn.

SIR - During my second bi-annual pilgrimage to Skipton, I read the Craven Herald tribute to Andrea Smith. My eye was drawn to the name of her late husband Brook Smith, and my thoughts went back to the funeral of my aunt (Maude Cartledge). At the time, I commented to another aunt (Margaret Nichols), that it was unusual to see a female funeral director: to which the response was, “Well she’s your cousin!”.

I have forgotten the explanation about the generation of cousin and how far removed; but it was through my maternal grandmother (Susannah Smith) that we were related. Whilst on the subject of the Smith family, I remember that, as a boy, I met another ‘cousin’ who lived in Eastby. He was Stan Smith, and, if my memory serves me correctly, he flew Meteors with an Australian Squadron during the Korean War, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He became an inspiration to me; but, sadly, I never met him again. I went on to fly Meteors, during my advanced jet training with the Royal Air Force: the same airframes had apparently been used during the Korean war, and I often wondered if I was sharing the cockpit that Stan Smith had used 15 years earlier.

After my retirement, I was appointed college secretary at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell, where I was (among other things) responsible for the administration of endowment funds, investments, and college prizes. Among these was the Herbert Smith Memorial Trophy. Sad to say, I had never heard of Herbert Smith; but my interest was aroused when I was told that a colleague had recently visited his widow in Skipton. I went on to discover that he was born in Bradley (in 1890), went to Keighley Grammar School and studied technology in Bradford. As his engineering career developed he joined the Sopwith Aviation Company in 1913, and it was there that he designed the Sopwith Camel. I have yet to research that Smith family connection; but we Skipton folk used to adopt family first names (I am Philip after my grandfather and John after an uncle) so it was interesting to learn that we also had a John Herbert Smith in the known family. The ‘Sopwith’ Herbert Smith had a mother called Susannah (my grandmother’s name) and a sister called Hilda (my mother’s name). But after my last letter to the Craven Herald about Freddie Trueman and my distinguished (or should that be my extinguished) cricketing career: the Smith connection is less about aviation and more about cricket. According to the official records of the Craven Cricket League for 1908: the ‘Sopwith’ Herbert Smith topped the league’s bowling averages with 56 maidens; he took 47 wickets at an average of 3.17 from his 143 overs. As is my want, I went to Freddie Trueman’s grave and was delighted to find that someone had left a cricket ball. It was rubbed on the left side of the seam, so I suspect a spin bowler. But best of all I was able to tell Freddie that the glory days are back. We’ve won the championship, we’ve got a long haired Yorkshire-born bowler; and the captain’s in a bit of bother because he spoke his mind in a ‘Roses Match’ that we won.

Phil Rodgers, Market Rasen.