THE new year has come in a blaze of light.
Can we transfer some of this light into the canal lights? This year, can we please make the canal path safe for the public? We shouldn’t have to stumble around in the dark blind. It’s a health and safety hazard.
There are 14 lights between town and Aireville Park. As nobody is claiming responsibility for them, they have been decorated for the festivities.
It has been at least six years since the last light failed. It’s strange the council that funds the street lights in Skipton, lights back streets but not the canal path. How many people do you think use a back street in an evening: three, maybe four? Well, more than 2,000 people use the canal in daylight. At night, it is considerably less due to the lack of lights. So why are back streets lit and not the canal path? It is high time some party takes responsibility for the lights.
On December 17, we did another petition. We got more than 100 signatures between 4.30pm and 6.30pm. This shows the sheer mass of people that use the canal despite the lack of lights and the high risk of stumbling into the cold, muddy waters below.
School children from both primary and secondary schools use the path. It is surprising there have not been any reports of falling into the canal. Do we want the canal to become the Ouse? On any stretch of canal, there are the mooring rings, mooring stumps and potholes. These are a health and safety risk in the day. Never mind negotiating these obstacles with dusk lighting.
As a student myself, I am outraged at the lack of care from whoever is responsible for the lights, which at the minute seems to be Father Christmas. However, I asked him to light the canal for Christmas and, unfortunately, he said he doesn’t get involved in politics. This situation is so complex that even the ‘jack of all trades’ isn’t getting involved. Keep us on solid ground. Help light the way. Facebook: Skipt-ON Canal Lights or Young Greens Skipton or mail: younggreensskipton@hotmail.com
ELEANOR HARTLEY SMITH
Upper Sackville Street, Skipton

THE Wyvern Park development will bring 225 new homes and a new business park to Skipton in phase one.
The site will be accessed from the bypass via a new roundabout and from Carleton Road via a roundabout and a further separate junction.
The development is approved and so will go ahead as in law the only party who can now appeal is the applicant. My concern is for the impact on the local community, where full consultation has not taken place.
Craven District Council have told me it placed five notices in the area, an advert in the Craven Herald and consulted with the residents of 109 homes potentially affected. They did not choose to consult with all residents potentially affected and I am awaiting the results of my Freedom of Information request to understand why all those affected were not consulted.
I have had to make a Freedom of Information request as Craven District Council, its officers and elected representatives have not chosen to respond openly to my requests to meet and discuss our concerns about the impact of the development and work together to find a solution. I have read the consultant’s report, which covers more than 400 pages and concludes that the increase in traffic created by the development will ease the traffic problems on Carleton Road through an adjustment to the traffic lights at the top of Carleton Road and Craven Street. The report is a complete fudge, contains serious errors and has many omissions.
It takes no account of residents having to cross the road at various points where the pavement stops on one side. It overlooks the fact that residents park their cars in Carleton Road and at certain points this makes the road too narrow for cars to pass in both directions, and it proposes no plan for safety and traffic calming measures, which will be essential.
Carleton Road is a problem now and I am delighted the highways have agreed to a meeting in January to address current issues and look at the future impact caused by the Wyvern Park development. I am also delighted our MP Julian Smith has shown a real interest in this issue; far more so than our local councillors, who have remained largely silent.
All I am seeking is for Craven District Council to work with residents, who have very genuine concerns and to not put up the barriers and hide and hope that the problem will go away. This issue will not go away without us working together to find a proper solution.
If you would like to see the consultant’s report or require any further information, please email me at tim@timforman.com.
TIM FORMAN
Skipton

FOLLOWING various letters, articles and announcements in the Craven Herald, I would like to raise various points about the forthcoming Tour de Yorkshire (TdY).
Firstly, the TdY will be coming to Settle on April 29 (letour.yorkshire.com). The Three Peaks race, based around Horton, which is an annual event, is on April 30 (threepeaksrace.org.uk). I understand that accommodation in the district is usually in heavy demand at the time of the Three Peaks race as it is, yet having two big events on the same weekend in the same area seems madness for over-stretching resources. Perhaps it would have been better to share the load (and get two bites at the cherry of visitor spending) over two weekends?
Secondly, following the fiasco of the overcrowded trains into Skipton from Carlisle last year on the day of the Tour de France (reportedly such that passengers waiting at Settle were prevented from boarding the train to Skipton as it was already over-crowded), please would the TdY organisers ensure there is plenty of transport capacity. Surely, it would be better to encourage people to come to Settle by train, for environmental reasons, and noting the narrow streets of Settle and the small amount of car-parking available. And don’t forget the line to Giggleswick as well: it should be possible to walk/shuttle from Giggleswick station, too.
Thirdly, how much is the TdY going to cost? There’ll be a budget somewhere, for example, for the cost of road-closures and policing.
There will certainly be benefits to the region. Or are the costs very hush-hush, with the council taxpayer picking up the brunt of the costs?
ALLAN GOULD
Settle

IN reply to Peter Taylor’s letter – Blanket approach will cause chaos (Craven Herald, December 24) – I can assure him North Yorkshire does not hand out blue badges willy nilly.
My husband had one for about six years in Buckinghamshire, and when he applied to renew it after we moved North, he was refused one. I explained without the wide parking space he would be unable to get out of the car and that household maintenance etc. was paid for as he could not do it himself, so was most definitely disabled. It was again refused, and I wrote to Julian Smith MP and said along the same lines, people jumping out of cars, with no apparent disability, had a blue badge, so why were we refused.
What a wonderful MP we have. He contacted Bucks County Council, and we then got a phone call to say there had been a misunderstanding and my husband could have a badge. This was sent to him before my cheque was even posted. It took us six months of appeal, but was worth it as he can now get out of the car and, yes, we are quite happy to pay for parking. Free parking was never the issue, it was the size of the parking bay.
ANN REED
Carleton

I AM a member of Craven Pool and Fitness Centre and and use the centre’s car park.
I fully support the idea of cutting down workers parking all day. I strongly suggest that charges are only imposed Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm because many other local health organisations use it off-peak and at weekends.
Skipton AC meets for a twice-weekly run between 7pm and 8.30pm and the Skipton parkrun is a huge success, taking place every Saturday at 9am and many use the cafe afterwards. The Craven Energy Tri Club members sometimes park to go running or cycling at off-peak times.
I do feel the cafe will lose custom as some adults may drop off their kids and come back instead of waiting in the cafe.
As the council ought to encourage health and fitness clubs, please do not penalise them financially. I do not believe farm shop users will park at the pool it is far too far to walk.
JAYNE BUTTERWORTH
Gargrave

I WONDER how many blue badge holders that have now been discriminated against by Craven Council are ex-servicemen who have fought for Great Britain?
I was wondering how many of our council have served in the forces? I know Gordon Bell, our mayor, has but do we have any more? I wonder.
SAM BOTTOMLEY
Sharphaw Avenue, Skipton

I WRITE with regard to Coach Street car park in Skipton.
Do all the disabled and permit holders know that Craven District Council gives spaces, free of charge, to the three-day canal festival? The disabled spaces make way for a marquee for the Saturday night party.
R REYNOLDSON
Skipton

CRAVEN (and the wider Yorkshire/Lancashire area) has recently experienced the worst flooding for many years and families’ lives have been disrupted as a result.
May I first of all extend my sympathies to everyone who has suffered flooding and hope that they are soon able to recover their livelihoods.
I live in Skipton’s Keighley Road area and we, along with the Broughton Road area and Snaygill Industrial Estate, were put on a red flood warning in late afternoon, Christmas Day, due to Eller Beck in the town centre flooding into the canal via Springs Branch.
The canal main line is built on an embankment above the level of the properties in the areas mentioned. Eller Beck’s floodwaters caused the canal to overtop its banks in the Broughton Road area, I believe, sending water into people’s homes and businesses.
It is, of course, possible that everyone had been adequately warned via the Environment Agency’s website/social media/automated telephone call system etc. and had acted on a message from them to move all possessions upstairs and prepare their properties accordingly. Having subsequently asked around a few of my neighbours, I have found three other people had received such a warning.
Could I suggest anyone in these areas who hasn’t already done so signs up with the Environment Agency for an automated warning. It costs nothing and doesn’t make anything more likely, but at least you would be forewarned if we have a repeat event. It would be impossible for two or three people to adequately warn an entire neighbourhood whilst also trying to protect their own families and property.
These floods are fortunately rare, but Eller Beck does have a history of this – I can recall November 2000 and I’m sure there are other events in the more distant past. When completed, Skipton’s flood defence system will reduce the risk presented by Eller Beck. In the meantime, we can best prepare ourselves by being suitably warned of any potential flooding risk.
JS PHILLIP
Walton Street, Skipton

MR Tod states that climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels is partially responsible for the recent flooding in Craven – Time to wake up to climate danger (Craven Herald, December 31).
As your editorial points out, there are plenty of differing views on that subject.
During my lifetime, I have experienced ‘Arctic’ winters (40s), ‘Deluge’ winters (50s) and ‘Mediterranean’ summers (60s). Our climate was always changing even before humans burnt the first lump of coal. Indeed, Craven used to lie underneath a massive ice sheet.
Mr Tod also believes that wind farms will help to reduce flooding. Many people don’t agree. These hideously expensive wind farms typically generate electricity for only 24 per cent of the time (Chelker only four per cent), and would never be constructed without those juicy ‘subsidy bungs’ extracted from our pockets via those hidden taxes on our household energy bills. ‘Green’ they may be, but as electricity generators, they are pitifully minimal.
My own preference for understanding recent flooding is exemplified in Mr Sands’ excellent letter – Rethink is needed over moors drainage (Craven Herald, December 31) – where he points out that recent flooding was exacerbated by the digging of ‘grips’ on marginal agricultural land during the post-war period and encouraged by the Ministry of Agriculture. A good example of the law of unintended consequences. Heavy rainfall used to be captured on this marginal land, which acted as a sponge, ensuring water fed slowly into the watercourses.
What we now witness are huge surges in river levels after two hours of rainfall, travelling at frightening speed, and carrying eroded soil down to the undredged rivers on the flood plains. If the status quo had been maintained, would we now be spending £13.8 million of our taxes on constructing a vast concrete basin at the foot of Skipton Golf Club?
Mr Tod lives in Malham, safely inside the ‘wind farm free’ protection zone of the National Park (Policy U5 of 2008). His ‘beggar my neighbour’ attitude defies belief to local residents, whose lives would have been blighted had these applications been successful. ‘Loss of residential amenity’ is a key factor in planning decisions. Mr Tod seems unable, or unwilling, to understand this.
The Great Wind Farm Scam is coming to an end. Recent Government legislation will end all subsidies to all new onshore wind farms from April 1. Furthermore, the final decision on planning approvals will rest entirely with the local community. Our Member of Parliament has been resolute in defending local residents from the wind farm vandals.
The game’s up!
PETER RIGBY
Beamsley

SANDY Tod and Nick Sands (Letters, Craven Herald, December 31) make only partial explanations of the problems we are currently witnessing.
Climate change may well explain increased intensity and frequency of rain but addressing that will not reduce flooding for several decades. Blocking moorland grips will perhaps assist as will reconsidering building on floodplains. But it surely makes little sense to play the blame game.
I believe the Dutch include all sectors in their flood defence decisions and they have to contend with their uplands being in another country. They also have to deal with large swathes of their country being below sea level. So, we will need to consider renewable energy, the uplands, tree planting, hard engineering, flood resilience, as well as drainage, both rural and urban. We will also need to understand that what works in one location will be inappropriate in another.
As a farmer in the uplands, I do not appreciate being asked to make a sacrifice without a quid pro quo from my urban friends. We need holistic solutions and it will need money. So, those of you who voted for austerity and tax cuts, I hope you live somewhere above the flood line because on this one we are – to coin a phrase – all in it together.
ANTHONY BRADLEY
Mearbeck, Long Preston

TIME is running out for anyone wishing to comment on a proposal to build up to 190 new homes on the edge of Silsden, on a site which lies just a matter of yards from the edge of the recent extensive flooding that has brought misery to hundreds of residents living in the Aire valley.
And, whilst the plans are available to view in Keighley and Skipton libraries, they consist of a pile of papers and documents that might easily take up the best part of a morning to sift through. Fortunately, the online bradford.gov.uk site is far more user-friendly, even though this washappened to be ‘down’ for much of December.
By any stretch of the imagination, the idea of building up to 190 new dwellings on the edge of what has been recently proved to be an increasingly active floodplain seems contrary to common sense. Deprived of yet more soak-away capacity and subjected to additional run-off the River Aire will, in response to changing weather patterns, inflict further flood misery on the inhabitants of the valley and make adjacent households and properties practically uninsurable.
In addition, it has already been shown that the existing sewerage infrastructure is already working at full stretch and unable to accept any more waste without further investment.
Other elements of the town’s infrastructure also question the viability of the scheme. The electricity supply is already working close to capacity, and as for traffic, the usual stop-start procession through the town at most times of the day will only result in traffic backing up Bolton Road or onto the link road at busy peak periods.
The schools are full, unable to satisfy current – let alone projected – demand, and the new larger health centre, built at some considerable cost, will soon prove to be inadequate if the town’s population is allowed to expand at the current rate.
In short, it seems every available piece of ground is being considered or earmarked for development without any consideration given for the quality of life of present and future generations. Once a field or pasture is gone, it’s gone forever and the space, amenity, views etc. are lost for all time. In addition, it seems no-one is ever held to be accountable for the mistakes which do – inevitably – occur, and the promise of short-term profit and temporary employment are judged to outweigh all other considerations.
J JOHNSON
Silsden

IN HIS letter to the editor, published on December 31, Sandy Tod claims that Friends of Craven Landscape (FoCL) derided his statement to the last Brightenber Hill wind farm planning committee meeting – Time to wake up to climate danger (Craven Herald).
In fact, FoCL has never derided anyone.
Both in public and in private, we have spoken of our respect for the local, pro-wind farm action group, of which Mr Tod was a member. Should he wish to see it, I can send Mr Tod a copy of my planning committee speaking note.
Also, I assure Mr Tod that FoCL are not climate change deniers. We accept completely the imperative for developing renewable energy. However, we assert there are far better technologies that are much less damaging to the landscape and, more importantly, less damaging to the life quality of people who live and work within the landscape.
CHRIS EMMETT
Friends of Craven Landscape