Residents urged to speak out for library

We moved to Skipton three years ago and have found that the welcome of the staff , combined with their eagerness to nourish our children with good books and regular creative events, has created a social space that is rare and unique.

There is nowhere else on Skipton High Street to duck into on a miserable day, take shelter, share a story, bump into a friend and feel like part of the community .

The knowledge and expertise of the library staff should not be underestimated and I feel that predicted staffing cuts and volunteer-run libraries of the future indicate an undervaluing of the role of the librarian.

It is ridiculous to think that volunteers could replace trained staff at Skipton Library and continue to offer the depth of relationship, inspired knowledge of books and organisational skills needed to put on events for all ages in our community.

If the staffing cuts go ahead I fear that a crucial public space and centre for creativity and learning would be lost forever.

Surely there is a way to save such a valuable and nurturing service. Skipton Library is so well used and there is no question about the role it plays within the lives of older people, visitors to our town, students of all ages and families.

I urge the people of Skipton to speak out in support of their library and the library staff before it is too late.

Ruth Howard-Birt East Neville Street Skipton Homes’ design fault?

Sir - On November 13 you reported that the Yorkshire Dales National Parks Authority had approved ‘controversial plans’ to replace the existing houses at Aynham Close. You further reported that the development was opposed both by the parish council and the residents of Barden Fell View. That impression was reinforced by the quoted comments of Harold Brown, the committee chairman.

Both the parish council and the residents, who have all seen and approved this letter, wish to set the record straight.

We did not oppose it.

From the outset both the residents and the parish council have unequivocally supported the redevelopment of Aynham Close. Its redevelopment was not in the least controversial.

The developers did what good planning practice requires, namely consult with local residents from the outset. Their plans had the total support of both the residents and the parish council.

These plans were never submitted to the planning authority. Following good practice, the developers discussed them with the planning officer. She said she would recommend them for refusal.

It is important here to explain the officer’s stated reasons for this.

The plans did not fail to comply with or breach any local or national planning guidelines. Quite simply the planning officer, who neither lives in nor works in Grassington, disliked the layout. She thought it looked ‘too boxlike’. (Remember, this is to replace Aynham Close, which was never going to make a shortlist of prize-winning housing!) As the head of planning has confirmed, it was an entirely personal and subjective point of view. It was her interpretation of planning guidelines, which are only guidelines; they are not rules.

The developers had little choice but to resubmit plans altering the layout to the one preferred by the planning officer or risk refusal.

The planning officer decided not ‘to burden the residents’ with more information so did not tell them of the altered plans.

They were resubmitted to the parish council, which did consult the residents. They pointed out which plans the residents preferred and why. They also said that the original plans had a number of advantages over the plans before the committee, not least that they would provide an additional housing unit.

In a village where there is such a demand for housing every unit helps, and this would also have assisted the developer where all the housing has to be low cost. This point seems to have been completely ignored by the chairman.

The parish council urged the planning committee to reject the plans so that the original ones could be submitted instead.

The report of the planning officer on this point says that this is irrelevant and the committee should only consider the application before it.

That may be correct law, but as we reminded the committee, they are supposed to take account of local views.

This is the third time within 15 months that the views of this village have been overridden by the planning committee of the national park authority.

Two of those have had officer support for taking a different view from that expressed locally.

If there is such obvious disregard, bordering on contempt, for local views then perhaps the time has come to ask if this village and the whole of Upper Wharfedale might not be better served by having all its planning decisions decided locally in Craven, rather than in the remoteness of Bainbridge by officials and members who have no local connection.

Michael Rooze Chairman, Grassington Parish Council Building for the future Sir - I too have read carefully the Craven Local Plan and although I agree with other correspondents that it appears vague in places I wonder whether the people who have seen shortcomings have done what they were invited to do and been to see the planners to make their detailed, not vague, suggestions for improvements.

This is a draft plan and its compilers want the public to point out flaws so that the final document can be better for the local input.

I did that and was very impressed by the interest and note-taking of the young man who listened to what I suggested.

I was in fact not only saying the same as Colin Speakman in his article on the Passivhaus standard (Craven Herald, Eye on the Dales, November 6), but took an example of such a house that could be built for £45,000 plus the cost of the land. I have to point out that this was designed for self-build but would cost an estimated £80 per year to run, not the £800 to £1,200 currently quoted.

For a government which has pledged to cut carbon emissions considerably over the next few years this is what my sons would call a ‘no brainer’. I am sure that our local builders could lead the county in providing these airtight, well-ventilated and insulated houses with very little extra training. Where builders in other parts of the country have built a few to test the market they have usually been bought before the building started.

All our local government needs is government backing to resit the lobbying of the building industry of this country when they say they can only provide enough homes if allowed to build the poor-quality homes you will not find in most of the rest of Western Europe.

Eric Caldwell Beech Hill Road Carleton Club pledges action Sir - As a family-orientated club which strives to adhere to the highest standards of behaviour, it was extremely disappointing to read Mr Phillips’ letter (Craven Herald, November 13) regarding the alleged actions of those who appeared to be associated with us.

We have been in contact with Mr Phillips to offer our apology and we now publicly apologise for any offence caused or taken and the matter has been passed to our disciplinary officer for investigation.

The alleged conduct is totally unacceptable and contrary to the core principles of our game. Please rest assured that insofar as our members’ actions are concerned, the club will take appropriate disciplinary action to ensure that there is no repetition in the future.

Howard Whiteley Secretary Wharfedale RUFC Questions on closure Sir - I am writing about the situation created at the Jerry Croft entrance to Skipton’s car and coach park.

The works being undertaken are occurring at the most busy time of year for many businesses and families with the Christmas season already almost upon us all. Local businesses are suffering and likely to incur substantial financial loss as a result of the timing of these works.

I am saddened that the service which local people and visitors expect from the amenities in Skipton has been so markedly affected and will continue to deteriorate until urgent action is undertaken. I wonder if Skipton residents were aware of the scale of distress to local businesses and the risks to our local economy that the road closure would cause.

When was the original planning application for refurbishment and road closure lodged? What consultation took place to ensure that ratepayers and businesses alike could express their views? The rumour mill is in full swing and I would ask if there is to be a change of usage of the former Town Hall?

A common sense approach to the works would be to undertake them in the early part of next year, and one has to ask the question: why not?

I would also ask how local businesses and ratepayers are given some consideration and consultation regarding such works, which may appear marginal but have tremendous consequences for our local economy.

John O’Garra The Bailey Skipton Alternative car park Sir - Skipton has a new car park which can accommodate spaciously up to 200 cars. The ‘Bailey car park’, boasting a spectacular view across the Dales, is manned and open to the public.

By-passing the High Street’s road congestion, the vehicle entrance is opposite Skipton Building Society’s head office, with its pedestrian entrance/exit conveniently adjacent to the pelican crossing - only 300 metres to the High Street.

Sebastian Fattorini Bailey Car Park Highly entertaining Sir - I would like to congratulate Skipton Musical Theatre Company on their latest production, Oliver!, which took place over half-term week at the Mart Theatre.

I thought that the whole cast were excellent and I was completely ‘blown away’ by the quality of the production.

It was a blessing that the company moved form a ‘cramped stage’ at the Town Hall to the Mart a couple of years ago, and also inspirational to change their name from ‘amateur operatics’ to musical theatre company.

The show was truly professional (nothing amateur about it!) and the Mart provides a location which gives a sharper edge and more modern feel to the shows.

A few years ago local societies suffered from poor ticket sales and outdated productions, but wow, Oliver! was so refreshing.

My only disappointment was that many of my friends were unable to see the show, as it was a complete sell-out. I’m sure it could have run for several more nights.

Highly entertaining indeed - well done everyone, and I can’t wait for your next production.

Mary Squires Keighley Road Skipton Keeping bus running Sir - Bus user Peter Rigby of Beamsley (Craven Herald, November 13) need not despair. Thanks to the volunteer-led Dales & Bowland CIC the much lamented X59 between Skipton and Harrogate still runs, at least on Saturdays.

Now known as service X75 it is also extended to Malham to give both visitors and local people a Saturday bus to Malham, Harrogate and Skipton. Timetables can be downloaded from www.dalesbus.org This is being run without any help from North Yorkshire County Council.

By law we are obliged to accept senior citizen passes. When Government brought this measure in, there was pledge that operators “should be no worse nor better off” as a result of the pass.

But because North Yorkshire pay operators only the legal minimum, one operator in Craven, Pennine Motors, has already gone out of business, and other bus companies are now struggling to survive, with potential catastrophic consequences to the people of Craven because of this short sighted meanness.

Mr Rigby can help us by keeping his bus pass in his pocket for one way of his journey and paying a single fare, just using his bus pass to come back, in effect paying a half fare.

If he and others are prepared to do this we may be able to keep services such as the X75, the much valued 580/581 to Settle and the Pride of the Dales network going, despite the appalling failings of both government and county council.

Howard Handley, Chair, Friends of DalesBus Bramley Leeds Access denied?

Sir - The UK’s tourist attractions are a hugely important part of our national heritage, but did your readers know that according to our new survey a third of the UK’s top tourist venues are not fully accessible to wheelchair users?

We also found that three out of 10 venues did not have essential accessibility information on their websites, only 17 per cent had all their staff trained in disability awareness and only 15 per cent were equipped with hoists – an indispensable item for many disabled visitors.

I work for Vitalise, an amazing national charity that provides essential respite breaks for people with disabilities and their carers.

We did the survey because we regularly take our guests on excursions to tourist attractions around the country.

We think that people with disabilities have a right to access all that society has to offer, so why should our proud cultural heritage be off limits to disabled people?

Access should be a right, not a privilege.

What’s more, venues will be missing out on valuable income if they’re not accessible – did your readers know that the annual spending power of people with disabilities is around £212 billion?

This means there’s not only an ethical case to improve access, but a financial one too.

We think visitor attractions should be talking to people with disabilities about accessibility. After all, who better to ask?

They can start by talking to Vitalise’s guests, who would be only too happy to tell them where they’re going wrong and what they need to put right!

To get things moving we’ve started a new campaign called #AccessNow.

I’d like to call upon your readers to get behind #AccessNow by telling us your stories of poor accessibility - help us gather the evidence we need to push for urgent change.

For more information about how to support #AccessNow and to see more of the findings of our survey, visit www.vitalise.org.uk Colin Brook Vitalise Upper Street London