Letters to the editor

The planning committee has passed the plans to develop the site with larger 4/5 bedroom bungalows with dormer windows in spite of local residents' objections and concerns. I am not sure what the restrictions on future changes to the roof line relates to but, suffice it to say, again the developers have got what they wanted.

The proposed properties are now larger and with insufficient parking space creating potential future issues as there is no on-road parking on this small, narrow, but busy country lane. Dormers were originally rejected as inappropriate as the properties opposite are all bungalows with no dormer windows. But again on appeal the developer's wishes have been granted.

As outlined in the article, the translocation of the hedge of historic and natural importance is quite farcical. What a mess! A picture paints a thousand words.

I am not sure what contact Richard Leach has had with local residents and how the planned development will be managed, but locals have serious concerns about the amount of construction traffic and parking during the erection of these dwellings. The logistics of the operation will need to be very carefully managed to avoid major inconvenience to both local residents and road users, but I am unaware of any contact to discuss these issues.

With a further application for outline planning for an additional four bungalows to the rear of this development, local residents are certainly concerned!

ROBERT WALKER, Dick Lane, Cowling.

I WOULDN’T normally respond to political smear campaigns, however, in this case I feel Conservative councillor Andrew Mallinson has also tried to rewrite history for his own benefit – Councillor’s switch (Craven Herald, July 9).

It would seem someone has to explain to him that as an Independent councillor, I can decide to vote for what is best for my ward and the district rather than blindly following a party line.

If he had put forward a credible alternative to the recommendation put to the Keighley area committee then it could have been considered. In the event, he didn’t.

Cllr Mallinson attempts to rewrite history suggesting the Keighley area committee was voting on whether to make cuts or not to the planting budget. This was not the case as the decision to make cuts was made at the Bradford budget meeting in February.

The Conservatives did propose an alternative budget, however, they made the same £200,000 cuts to the planting budget in their proposal as did the Labour group, so regardless of whether the Labour or the Conservative budget was voted on, these cuts would have happened anyway.

This revision of history may inadvertently mislead some people to assume that by voting the recommendation down the cuts would have been avoided. This is pure fantasy. The recommendation was to get more information to decide how to mitigate the effects of the cuts that had already been decided on by full council and to bring this information back to the Keighley area committee in September.

Cllr Mallinson decided not to support this attempt to mitigate the effects and so abandoned our various communities for a political position.

It seems what is at the bottom of this is ‘sour grapes’ because Cllr Mallinson did not gain control of the area committee and, given this outburst and the attempt to rewrite history, it would appear to vindicate my decision.

I am an Independent councillor and will vote for the benefit of my ward rather than play party politics.

CLLR ADRIAN NAYLOR, Independent councillor, Craven ward.

YOUR editorial regarding Embsay-with-Eastby facing encroaching urbanisation by piecemeal applications was spot-on – Village is put under siege (Craven Herald, July 2).

What is particularly galling is the fact the planning officer had pre-application meetings with both developers of the three adjacent sites, and apparently failed to advise all parties that 85 dwellings exceeded the draft Local Plan by 40, and would not be sustainable in this rural community, with no school vacancies and serious traffic problems with another 100 cars per day going in and out of Shires Lane.

The planning officer also failed to raise at the council planning meeting that considered the additional 12 houses, that there was an application on the way for 39 more houses on the same lane.

The outcome was that a majority of the planning committee felt obliged to grant outline permission for the 12 houses on top of the developer’s already granted 34 as they anticipated that if they refused and the developer went to appeal it would probably be upheld, and the appeal would cost the council time and money that they are reluctant to spend.

Therein lies ‘the rub’ of course. Even if the planning committee is minded to tell the other developer – the Duke of Devonshire’s trustees – that 39 houses on top of the 46 already granted on the same lane is too many, then they will be reminded by their own chairman and the chief planning officer that they may lose an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.

Once again the planning committee will find itself ‘forced’ to assent because they do not want or cannot afford to face appeal costs.

As I say, no way out for the villagers!

VINCE SMITH, Millholme Rise, Embsay.

I AM the local Marie Curie community fundraiser for Skipton and I am appealing to the Craven Herald readers to volunteer for Marie Curie as a fundraising group member, which will in turn help people with a terminal illness in this area get the care they need at home from our Marie Curie nurses.

Our Marie Curie nurses provide hands on care for terminally ill patients and emotional support for them and their families in their own home. In order for us to raise the funds to continue providing this care, we rely enormously on voluntary contributions.

We are currently in urgent need of new members for our Skipton Marie Curie fundraising group, who would be willing to help other volunteer members organise supermarket collections, look after collecting tins in and around Skipton and put on their own events for us raising vital funds for the charity. It’s a great way to meet new friends too.

We have a meeting arranged on July 22 at 6.30pm at Dyneley Barn in the car park of Dyneley Health Centre, Newmarket Street, Skipton, and would welcome anyone to come along and find out more about the group.

If this role sounds of interest to you or if you would like to find out more, please contact local fundraiser Sharon Link on 07850 299998 or e-mail her at sharon.link@mariecurie.org.uk for more details.

SHARON LINK, Marie Curie Community Fundraiser, Skipton.

REGARDING the enduring saga of the planning application for wind turbines near Gargrave, surely these things should on every available hill of our windy island?

The scientific consensus tells us that our output of carbon into the air is turning the oceans acidic and heating our planet up. Furthermore, they warn us that if the heating goes beyond two degrees (a figure we are disturbingly very close to), the effects upon the earth would be very uncertain.

Now, I don’t believe everything that scientists tell us, but the fact remains, these people landed a man on the moon, a spacecraft on a comet and they are at present sending back photos from Pluto (it’s only three billion miles away!). They’re evidently quite clever. Why on earth, then, should we be cocky enough to think they must be wrong when it comes to climate change, and that our opinions should carry more weight? Surely, to ignore their advice is wilfully stupid?

Here are some facts. Mankind has doubled the proportion of atmospheric carbon dioxide since the industrial revolution; carbon dioxide heats up the planet; the ice around Antarctica is starting to melt; Antarctica holds enough ice to raise global sea levels by 60 metres. Now, can you imagine what would happen to our civilisation if only one of those 60 metres of ice was melted and added to sea level? More to the point, what would you do with all those people from Hull and Liverpool who would be looking for new homes up in the Dales?

Secondly, if we doggedly continue down the road of fossil fuels, we’ve got some quite disturbing options to deliberate upon. For example, do we really want to ‘get fracking’ all over our beautiful island? Do we really want to put our future energy security in the hands of that nice Mr Putin?

I think we have to bravely look to a future where we can leave the fossil fuels safely in the ground. We have to get clean energy from wherever we can: from wind, from solar thermal, from photovoltaics, from nuclear fusion, from biomass, from anywhere that allows us to continue to live comfortable lives on this beautiful planet.

But be aware, especially if you have children and grandchildren, time may be short.

NICK HEWES, Nelson Street, Skipton.

IN your letters page of July 2 (The system is sick), Vernon Wheelock made some excellent points about the need for the NHS to cut down on excessive drug prescriptions and about the importance of preventative medicine and a good diet.

In particular, I would agree that excessive use of antibiotics is not wise or helpful and that our profligacy with their diagnosis for both humans and animals is extremely damaging.

These good sound points are not, however, a sufficient answer to a major cash crisis, which the latest study has suggested will see 90 per cent of UK hospital trusts lose money this year even before the fresh round of spending restraints. You can’t replace someone’s knee by giving them good diet advice. Nor can you provide a heart bypass by cutting down on drug prescriptions.

We also need to recognise that some expensive drugs are not just evil devices to help the drug companies make profits.

Some of them do actually work. Cancer survival rates are massively improved and much of this is down to expensive new drugs. I don’t like the idea that only the rich will be able to afford them and the NHS will be telling more and more people that they cannot afford to treat them.

It seems to me that there are lots of things wrong with the NHS and we can all benefit from more healthy lifestyles, but you cannot look after an ageing population without asking people to put their hand in their pockets to cover the cost. Progressive income tax remains the best way to do that.

ANDY BROWN, Green Party, Main Street, Cononley.

I READ with sadness, but no surprise, that a pedestrian has been knocked down and injured at the Belmont Bridge junction with Cavendish Street junction.

This was an accident waiting to happen. The Skipton pedestrian is very poorly catered for. At the site in question, there are near misses every day as those on foot attempt to go about their daily business. For many of us, it is the main route to Morrisons supermarket and the railway station. We should not have to risk our lives in order to get there.

At another blackspot, I and many others attempt to cross Newmarket Street at the bottom of Bunkers Hill. Along with vulnerable residents from the Petyt Grove bungalows, parents and children from the Brougham Street school and children’s centre and other locals, I play cat and mouse amongst the traffic. The crossing further down Newmarket Street is poorly placed for anyone wishing to access the Three Links, M&S, the Cancer Support Centre, the main car park or the top of the High Street.

I recently questioned the wisdom of the highways department in replacing serviceable pavements with tarmacadam whilst leaving the road full of potholes. That unnecessary expenditure should have been diverted into creating crossings, pedestrian refuges or, at the very least, a pedestrian warning sign at these spots. How many more accidents will take place before common sense prevails and the town acknowledges the safety rights of pedestrians?

MAIR FORDER, Duke Street, Skipton.

THE fate of the county is being discussed.

As a proud Yorkshire woman born in the West Riding, I despair when Whitehall and London-centric people down there make decisions for my ‘country’ Yorkshire.

I go for a Greater Yorkshire – with a Minister for Yorkshire in charge to take more control of local decision making. We could stand up in Parliament and trade with the world as one big voice.

There are those who know more about the politics and the problems involved than I do. We need to think this through very carefully. But why not take up the challenge as a Greater Yorkshire with grit and determination. We wondered about taking on Le Tour – and look at the result there.

VAL WALKER-WILTON, Doctor Laithe, Threshfield.

COUNCILLOR Andrew Mallinson continues his amusing, spleen-filled, irrational, spluttering vendetta against Councillor Adrian Naylor – Councillor’s switch (Craven Herald, July 9).

It’s perfectly possible, Cllr Mallinson, for a councillor to want one thing, such as green spaces, but to realise at the death that his wish is not attainable in the current climate of austerity.

Far better that realism than your own version, my friend, where Tory councillors such as yourself vote for anything and everything, indifferent to the long-term financial implications and concerned only to look cross-eyed benevolent in the eyes of the locals.

Could I suggest you stop trying to make Cllr Naylor appear villainous and get yourself some proper policies. Thank you.

ALLAN FRISWELL, Cowling.

CLEARLY Cllr Mulligan and others (Craven Herald, recent letters and news) are deluded if they think the grass is growing long, the buses have stopped running and libraries are being cut.

Mr Cameron MP says that frontline council services have not been cut due to the Coalition or Conservative governments. The buses ran, the grass was cut, the toilets had open doors etc in a back room somewhere. Not on the frontline.

CLAIRE NASH, Hall Croft, Skipton.

SADLY, some people cannot differentiate between the brain and the mind.

Some people believe it is because the brain developed more convolutions that Neanderthal man gave way to the modern type of man. But I ask where is the evidence for such an idea? Is there a bigger difference between an astronaut’s brain and someone like mine, for instance? Has an astronaut’s brain been exhumed and examined?

It seems to me some people will believe anything they are told providing it is done in an authoritative type of voice.

JEFF BILBROUGH, Hebden Hall Park, Hebden.

PEOPLE should not be under the impression that consultation with local communities has not taken place in the past.

The guidelines clearly indicate that communities should be consulted and ignored.

Box-ticking rules, OK!

RODERIC MATHER, East Thornber, Wigglesworth.