It’s time to act over ‘lethal’ town road Sir - Thank you for highlighting the safety problems on Jerry Croft, Skipton, last week (Herald ‘Safety Study on town centre road).

I cannot believe some of the comments in the article reportedly made by our elected councillors. By definition pedestrians do walk about and there is no footpath, kerb or bollards, simply a narrow 36-inch strip of different material, the same level as the road surface.

Many tourists, both drivers and pedestrians, use this route and are totally unfamiliar with the bizarre traffic arrangements. I would like to make the following observations: 1. Jerry Croft is a lethal, narrow street built for horse and carts. It is the main entrance to the car park from Skipton High Street and now carries a large number of vehicles, including huge HGVs and coaches.This system is particularly lethal to vulnerable pedestrians. This is not acceptable and a new car park entrance/exit must be created.

2. According to written information Craven District Council (CDC) owns most of Jerry Croft and are therefore responsible for it, though apparently in practice they seek advice from North Yorkshire County Council. In November 2012 I met two CDC officers by arrangement on Jerry Croft to discuss my concerns. As we dodged the coaches, HGVs and a non-stop stream of cars they told me that Jerry Croft was safe and that pedestrians often acted as a traffic-calming measure. They explained that new speed bumps, bollards and a kerb edge might cause a trip hazard for pedestrians. We agreed to disagree.

3. There was already a wide body of written evidence about safety issues on Jerry Croft, even before the recent Albion Place retail development opened. In 2004 the Skipton Renaissance Report, signed off by several of our current councillors, stated that Jerry Croft should be closed to traffic. In 2010 CDC planning officers listed the traffic/pedestrian ‘conflict’ on Jerry Croft in support of their attempt to refuse the the No 9 High Street planning appeal by Maple Grove (application 63/2010/11059). Even Maple Grove, in their planning application for Albion Place, conceded that the conflict of traffic and pedestrians on Jerry Croft was a weakness of their application.

4. It is unfortunate that a great opportunity to obtain ‘planning gain’ on Jerry Croft was missed in the complex development of Albion Place. This was a multi-million-pound venture and should have incorporated a new entrance/exit to the car park.

5. Last year CDC finally agreed to my request to undertake an independent risk assessment/traffic study on Jerry Croft and to publish the report. I was recently informed by a senior officer that this has been done and will be available in the near future.

The eventual solution to Jerry Croft may be to create a new car park entrance/exit, but surely it is time the authorities worked together to take decisive action.

It will not be easy or cheap and Skipton Chamber of Trade and the big retail stores will no doubt raise objections. I am aware that not everyone will agree with my views but in the long term the closure of Jerry Croft to vehicles can only improve public safety and will hopefully encourage even more people to visit our historic town.

Malcolm Keighley Hill Rise Skipton ‘Common sense’ call Sir - I note that Craven Council is to conduct a study on the safety of Jerry Croft.

While i appreciate the mix of vehicles and pedestrians is not ideal, I hope common sense will prevail. Drivers take great care using the road when they see pedestrians walking along especially now when it is narrower than usual because of the work on the town hall. I use it regularly as a driver and a pedestrian.

We saw before Christmas the chaos caused when Jerry Croft was closed for a month. With all traffic having to go down the High Street, there was gridlock at times on the High Street often backing up all the way along Water Street to Ermysted’s School on Gargrave Road.

When the High Street is closed for festivals and events, traffic can use Jerry Croft. If that was closed how would we get from the north or west to the other side of town?

Traffic flows well in Skipton generally and there have been very few incidents on Jerry Croft. Why change from that when we have seen the chaotic alternative so recently?

Town councillor John Dawson Skipton North Ward Gainsborough Court Skipton Well treated by NHS Sir - I would like to say through your paper what lovely treatment I had when I rang 111 after having a very bad pain in my left side for quite a while.

I was very nervous, being on my own. I talked to the doctor on the phone and he said I had better come into hospital.

The ambulance came within minutes and Judy and David came into my house; they were so kind.

I went to A&E, where everybody was so helpful. I had quite a few tests and then Dr Paul Hemmings did a scan. I was lucky, they could not find anything wrong. My daughters said how good he was to explain to me what they had done.

I felt reassured by him and came home, thinking how well I had been treated.

Mrs Margaret Tyson Airedale View Cross Hills Canal litter causes Sir - The problems reported by residents of Sedgwick Court about plastic litter in the canal (Craven Herald, February 12) have three causes.

One is that a nearby resident has taken to dumping his household rubbish in the canal simply by throwing it from his window. Evidence has been collected and reported to authorities, but at present it is difficult to see how he can be prevented. At least part of the rubbish mentioned is from this person.

The second cause is that in transferring care of the canals to a charitable trust, the government cut its own contribution by more than half so that the trust relies on volunteers in many instances where British Waterways had paid staff. I campaigned for, and obtained, a volunteer task force for Skipton but it needs more helpers and on February 11 the team was unable to clear the canal by Sedgwick Court, as it took all morning to cut back vegetation and clear rubbish (including a fridge) from beyond Aireville Park and to litter-pick the towpath below Victoria Buildings.

Perhaps residents of Sedgwick Court could join the volunteer team or urge the government to restore funding back to what it was under British Waterways.

The third cause is that our society values single-use plastic containers far more than it does the seas, rivers and canals in which the plastic ends up. Otherwise it would have ended their use long ago.

Claire Nash Hall Croft Skipton Cleanliness concern Sir - I read the story ‘Litter slick on canal’ with interest but no great surprise. In recent months the Skipton Liberal Democrats have been undertaking resident surveys across the town with the aim of finding out what issues are of most concern to voters.

The responses indicated that in areas such as education and social care for the elderly, residents are overwhelmingly happy with the quality of services they receive, however, a majority indicated they were frustrated with the general levels of cleanliness in both the town centre and the outskirts of Skipton (including the canal).

We know that council services are under pressure due to budget cuts but I would encourage all residents to become active members of their community if they wish to see matters improve. They can do this by reporting their concerns directly to the council or alternatively by using the website www.fixmystreet.com Edward Walker Glista Mill Skipton Opposed to fracking Sir - Scotland has just joined a growing number of countries that have either put fracking on hold or banned it altogether. New York has recently joined an increasing number of US states, including California, that have banned fracking altogether. The Welsh assembly has also indicated that they would like to see fracking put on hold. So what of Westminster?

Last month, English MPs voted overwhelmingly against a proposal for a two-year moratorium on fracking, and in favour of a government proposal to end the longstanding right of homeowners to decide what does, or does not go on under their feet. Amongst the many Conservative MPs dutifully voting in support of the government (Labour MPs were no better, they did as they were told and abstained) was the MP for Skipton and Ripon, Mr Julian Smith.

Over the last two or three years, Mr Smith has been very vocal in his opposition to onshore wind turbines, in part because they spoil the view. In an article in February 2012 he said: “Wind power does have a role to play... but it is absolutely crucial that wind farms are placed in the right location and have democratic support.”

A very laudable stance, but when voting for fracking to continue, Mr Smith does not apply the same standards because he has clearly ignored the lack of “democratic support” for fracking amongst the general public (support for fracking in this country is less than 50 per cent, and 74 per cent of those asked in a YouGov poll said that energy companies should have to get permission from owners or residents before drilling for gas under their homes).

And just what is the “right location” for hundreds, if not thousands of drilling sites (each the size of several football fields) spread throughout our countryside? With licences to frack being offered over pretty much the whole of the north of England, it seems unlikely that anywhere will not be considered the “right location”. Yes, the government has said fracking will not be allowed in National Parks and AONBs, but if these are surrounded on all sides by fracking sites, won’t that rather spoil the view?

In voting as he did, Mr Smith also seems to have ignored the huge environmental impact of fracking. Each drilling site will need to be supplied with vast quantities of water and noxious chemicals, all to be pumped into the ground. Just how many heavy wagons will be criss-crossing the countryside every day is anybody’s guess. But, don’t worry, it will pretty much all be one-way traffic, because Mr Smith also voted to allow the fracking companies to leave most of their chemicals in the ground when they have finished.

So what can you do if you care about our green and pleasant land? You can do as I have and join the Green Party, the fastest growing political party in this country, with more members than the Lib Dems or UKIP, and the only major party that is opposed to fracking in principle.

Timothy Scott Padside Harrogate Protecting countryside Sir - Do the local groups who oppose wind farms here (with the support of local Tory councillors) prefer fracking for gas in Craven? This would be strange. Fracking threatens the purity of our water supplies and leads to cheap fuel which will continue to increase climate change. Without discussion with their constituents our MPs have decided fracking is fine here.

Three Tory MPs, Julian Smith, Kris Hopkins and Andrew Stephenson, represent Herald readers in Parliament. All have voted against protecting our precious environment.

Labour and the Green MP in Parliament had succeeded in persuading the majority of the House of Commons to amend legislation so as to forbid fracking for shale gas under the following areas: national parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty, sites of special scientific interest and groundwater protection zones.

Sadly Government has now brought out the whips. All these moderate amendments were reversed this week in the House of Commons with the votes of these hypocrites, who claim to love our countryside but in fact put frackers’ interests first. Businesses will now be entitled to drill down just outside the above areas and then drill horizontally underneath them.

The modern Conservative Party (and their LIb Dem partners) have abandoned the protection of our countryside.This was the comment of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE): “The Government claimed to have introduced strong legal safeguards on fracking to protect the countryside and our communities. Now ministers have undermined that claim and further eroded public confidence.”

Labour leaders have pledged to restore the above protections for the rural environment , if elected with a majority in May.

Bob Holland Skipton Road Cononley Fairtrade thanks Sir – At the start of Fairtrade Fortnight (February 23 to March 8) I would like to thank everyone who has supported the Skipton Fairtrade Initiative, enabling Skipton to join the family of Fairtrade towns in Yorkshire, the UK’s first Fairtrade Region.

Fairtrade Fortnight 2015 is celebrating cocoa the most important ingredient in one of our favourite treats. Chocolate doesn’t just taste good but it can do good too. By choosing Fairtrade chocolate products you’re supporting farmers and workers to build a better future and changing lives in some of the poorest parts of the world.

Milk is another important ingredient in chocolate and at the moment it is cheaper than bottled water. The concern about low prices being paid to dairy farmers in the UK parallels Fairtrade’s concern about low prices being paid to farmers in the developing world who grow bananas, cocoa, coffee, tea and other commodities we consume on a daily basis. Paying farmers less than it costs to produce their goods is just not sustainable. As well as affecting farmers’ livelihoods, it could ultimately mean the foods we enjoy become unavailable or unaffordable in the much longer term.

Skipton Fairtrade Initiative supports local farmers as well as those in the developing world and believes that it’s time there was greater transparency on the distribution of value in supply chains – for milk, bananas and other products.

Please join us at our next meeting (at 6pm on March 13 in St Andrew’s Church Hall, Skipton) if you are concerned about these issues and put some Fairtrade items in your shopping basket this Fairtrade Fortnight.

Liz Roodhouse, Chair of Skipton Fairtrade Initiative and Co-ordinator of Craven Development Education Centre St Andrew’s Church Hall Newmarket Street Skipton A question of priorities Sir - Front page (February 12): cats and pantomimes. Page ten: 67 per cent increase in use of agency nurses at Airedale NHS. Page 18: 1.99 per cent rise in NYCC tax but £22 million savings still to be found. Isn’t it time the Craven Herald gave priority to reporting the issues that really matter to the lives of its readers?

Jean Byrne Cowling State rail success Sir - Sadly, on March 1s, our state-owned rail company East Coast is handed over to Virgin Trains in the coalition’s renewed privatisation of the national rail system. As an occasional user of East Coast between Skipton and London, and once memorably Leeds and Aberdeen, I am very sorry to see it go.

With the luxury of a senior rail card I have appreciated an efficient and reliable service, excellent bargains on off-peak trains and an online booking system which I actually find user-friendly. More important, I have also appreciated the clear demonstration by East Coast that a state-owned company can run a major rail franchise every bit as well as, maybe even better than the private companies. Moreover, East Coast has contributed its profits handsomely to the government Treasury, not to shareholder dividends and executives’ bonuses.

Given the coalition’s dogma, “state-owned bad, private good”, it is ironic that in the bidding process for the franchise a favoured front-runner was the French state-owned rail company. To save their blushes they gave the contract to Virgin in the dogmatic interests of “consumer choice and competition”. This now means that if you need to travel between London and Glasgow you choose between Virgin on the west coast line or Virgin on the east. What choice, what competition?

So, goodbye my East Coast and thank you to all who work for it. Thank you for your service and for showing that the privatisation handover to Virgin is entirely unnecessary.

Richard Hargreaves Strand House Hawkswick Skipton Wrong side of tracks Sir - As an amateur drystone waller I was interested in your article last week. Also the sheep who came to be on the wrong side of the railway tracks.

Many years ago I was talking to the signal man at Blea Moor about how lonely the job was. As we talked one of the mechanical signal levers moved on its own and then a few moment later it moved again to be followed by a very human like cough. Who could be out there on such a dark night. The hairs on the back of my neck rose.

“Oh lad, “he exclaimed. “Sheep are on t’track and getting caught on t’signal wires, give me a heck of fright one night.”

I believe he once found a grappling hook attached to the track over the viaduct; abseiling sheep, now that’s a story!

Stewart Lewis Esp Lane Barnoldswick No level playing field Sir - The Conservative Peer, Lord Fink, admitted this week to “vanilla” tax avoidance, saying “everyone does it”. Also revealed, was the extent to which HSBC has helped rich clients to avoid tax by sheltering money in secret Swiss bank accounts. It is becoming more and more apparent that, when it comes to tax, there is one rule for the rich and another for everyone else. The Conservative Party, supported as it is by hedge fund managers and City financiers, talks about cracking down on tax avoidance but does nothing serious about it. Their friends wouldn’t like it.

An estimated £25 billion was lost to tax avoidance last year. One in five large companies pay no corporation tax at all and half pay less than £10 million, by channelling money to offshore accounts. Meanwhile, the vast majority of people follow the rules and pay their taxes, including thousands of small businesses who often struggle to compete against big corporations.

There is no level playing field in Britain today. The wealth of the super rich has doubled since 2008. An astonishing £1.2 trillion was used to prop up the banks after their greed and profligacy brought the financial system to the brink of disaster. Meanwhile the average family has seen its annual income squeezed by £1,200 in real terms and a host of public services have been slashed.

The coalition’s policies have caused inequality to deepen in the aftermath of the crash, with the most vulnerable bearing the brunt of the cuts. Four million children now live in poverty, including 15 per cent of children in this constituency and nearly one million people have used food banks. Most of these people are in work but earn very little, often subject to few employment rights and the uncertainties of zero-hours contracts.

I believe that only a Labour Government will seriously address the current situation and take on the powerful vested interests at the heart of the financial system. That is why I am standing in this election. The people of this constituency have a great opportunity in May to elect their first-ever Labour MP and be part of the fight for a fairer society.

Malcolm Birks Labour Party Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Skipton & Ripon Old Mill Drive Colne