Readers' letters

SIR - Over the past week rural areas have suffered from blocked roads which could have been prevented by the erection of snow fences.

Roads do not have to be blocked over their whole length for a problem to arise, but only where the wind blows snow across the fields, and causes drifting – one drift across a road can make whole length of the road impassable.

Snow is blown off the fields into the roads. This can be clearly seen as the fields are clear of snow, the roads are full of snow

A snow fence can significantly reduce the need for ploughing, and keep roadways safer by reducing blowing and drifting onto the road.

A properly installed snow fence will slow down the wind, causing a drift to pile up on the downwind side of the fence – instead of in the road.

In the past snow fences were erected in late autumn several yards into the fields where there was likelihood of snow drifting so that the snow is blown over the fences, and dropped short of the road, keeping the road clear for traffic.

Mary Richardson, Main Street, Kirkby Malham

All the bridges need check after collapse

SIR - I write in light of the recent land collapse round Coffee Care in Coach Street and the wall collapse in the Coach Street car park.

An urgent check of all bridges and lands that cover waterways in the area is needed.

More coaches and HGV are using the Coach Street area, adding extra strain on these already weak bridges.

Name and address supplied

Building a bridge wouldn’t be easy

SIR - The problem of the Kildwick level crossing will never go away but to build a bridge is easier said than done.

To start with, the existing road is not wide enough. It will need to be twice as wide so it is safe for cyclists and pedestrians to cross the bridge.

This will mean demolishing the whole of Brown Bank Terrace, otherwise they would have no access and a wall up to nine metres high in front of their windows.

Which is a pity as they are some of the best houses in the area.

The bridge needs to be strong enough for heavy good vehicles to cross and high enough for the trains to pass underneath.

To get this height with a reasonable gradient you would have to start your approach about half a mile away beyond the trunk road on the Skipton side and about to Fives Landis on the Eastburn side.

Also all the other roads, side streets and driveways would have to be altered to accommodate this. This could take four years, during which time the road would need to be closed, as on occasions would be the railway line.

By all means campaign for a railway bridge, but remember it is not your home which is being blighted.

John Webb, Ingrow, Keighley

Benevolent Fund aid for those who served

SIR - As the RAF marks its centenary on April 1, I had to write and tell you about my mother, Rose Davies, who herself celebrated a centenary in 2016.

Now older than the service she loyally served during the Second World War, my mother is a true inspiration in my eyes.

She joined the WAAF in 1941 after my father, then her fiancé, had been posted to the Middle East for four years. It was her reckoning; if she contributed to the war effort she may just get her love home sooner. So she became a radar operator and served on the Isle of Wight during the D-Day landings in 1944.

Typically, my mother doesn’t think her story is worth telling, but she’s underplaying what a vital role she had.

A role for which she was honoured, receiving the French Legion d’Honneur and being guest of honour at a USAF/RAF banquet in Washington, America, in 2014.

She helped to guide the hundreds of ships which took part in the landings, across the Channel safely in very challenging conditions, all the while hoping those brave men would return.

This Mother’s Day I reflected on all she did for her country alongside all she did for us as a family.

Now she is part of the RAF Family, a family which looks after its own. This is borne out by the incredible support she receives from the RAF Benevolent Fund.

They give us the peace of mind to know Mum has all she needs in her retirement to live comfortably and with dignity. Should her needs grow, I know they will continue to be there for us as a family.

If your mum or dad served or you know someone that did and they need a little support, I encourage you to reach out to the RAF Benevolent Fund who have stood side by side with the RAF for the last 100 years. Visit www.rafbf.org to find out more.

Jonathan Davies, Proud RAF son

We shouldn’t rely on charity for services

SIR - I would like to congratulate Scottie Brewster on her clear, informed and conclusive letter on the need to re-open Castleberg Hospital (‘Health service plans do not make sense’, Craven Herald, March 1).

As I read the official Consultation document I am struck by two statements – “NYCC is willing to create an extra three beds in Limestone View” and “Potentially this (Sue Ryder Hospice’s Community Service) could be based at Limestone View”.

As limestone View is not a nursing home then NHS staff will be required to provide the 24-hour care needed, presumably the same will apply at Neville House and Ashfield, so more nurses will be needed than those based at Castleberg.

Secondly, Sue Ryder is a charity which does amazing work, but we should not be relying on it to replace the NHS service.

Castleberg is a basically sound building which can provide Intermediate, Palliative and End-of -life Care for the whole area with the minimum number of properly qualified staff, all available under one roof.

David Blackburne, Tems Side, Giggleswick

Health professionals show their feelings

SIR - It shows the strength of feeling about Castleberg Hospital’s closure when Scottie Brewster, at what must be a very sad time for her and her family, takes the time and trouble to put pen to paper and, from a very experienced former health professional’s knowledge, writes such an important letter in your newspaper.

We are very fortunate to have such a very committed and caring collection of health professionals in the Settle area, who have for many years been committed to supporting what is best for their patients and community.

As the consultation document says, and as Scottie says, the money is available for repairs, so that Castleberg can carry on giving that all-important level of loyalty and care that is due to their community.

Scottie’s husband, Dr Barry Brewster, died on February 2, 2018.

Richard Pollard, Townhead Way, Settle

Thanks for the efforts over tour of building

SIR - May we through your columns thank the many people who worked so hard to deliver the document “Community care services for people living in Craven” to an amazing number of people.

We would like also to thank the Castleberg Steering Group for arranging a tour of Castleberg Hospital and extending an invitation to Giggleswick Parish Council.

We were accompanied by two professional people from NHS Properties Services and one from Clinical Commissioning Services. All three answered our many questions with patience and in depth knowledge.

We toured the whole building and were impressed with its excellent condition.

All the wards and other rooms downstairs could easily be reinstated and the equipment brought back from Airedale where it is temporarily stored.

The toilets we felt could benefit from being upgraded.

The first floor had many additional rooms to offer, which included a large room that could be used for meetings, training, etc, and several other rooms that could accommodate medical/clinical groups that need a base to work from.

We have been told that there is money available to do all the electrical , heating and air-conditioning work.

The problem with the drains can be dealt with too.

Careful thought needs to be given to the way forward for this hospital – firstly, to maintain the excellent care for patients, cutting down the distance to travel by families visiting patients, and relieving the bed blocking at Airedale; and secondly, to preserve the flexibility its spare space provides for possible development of Townhead Surgeries and the Health Centre as our local population continues to grow and demand increases.

Pat Simpson and Margaret Airey, Giggleswick Parish Councillors, Sandholme, Station Road, Giggleswick

Vast majority of their diets in reality is grass

SIR - Jean Toner in her plea to reduce our meat consumption has misrepresented the reality of UK red meat production (‘We should be eating less fish and meat’, Craven Herald, March 1).

The UK produces beef from animals that have a total forage content of their diets of 85% and sheep meat has a figure of 95%.

In other words, the vast majority of their diet is grass - either grazed or conserved. A simple look out of the window shows sheep and cattle grazing when weather, ground conditions and especially grass availability permit.

However, ruminants are fed other feed to complement their forage and those farmers getting ready for lambing will be doing just that.

A ewe carrying twins has an increased demand for food and a shrinking stomach size as she nears giving birth. Increasing the energy density of her diet is essential for the ewe and her unborn lambs.

I happen to rear calves and notice from the ingredient list of their complementary feed that they are predominantly eating by-products from human food production, namely from flour milling, the distilling process, cooking oil manufacture and likewise for sugar.

Jean Toner will also be pleased to hear that I only give antibiotics to my stock under veterinary direction following strict protocols and only when essential to animal health.

I am sure she also knows that using antibiotics as a feed additive is banned in the UK and has been for decades.

If Ms Toner would like a real world view of livestock keeping she need only get in touch.

Anthony Bradley, Mearbeck, Long Preston

Effects of bread are not necessarily bad

SIR - I note with interest the article on Real Bread Week’ (Craven Herald, March 1).

I must applaud Thomas the Baker of Skipton for encouraging people to ‘give yeast a chance’.

So many people think that bloating is due to the bread they eat, and possibly so. Yeast is used to ferment the sugars in flour and does produce ‘gas’…..hence the bloating.

They often choose to ignore the gas that is in their fizzy drinks, beer/lager and not forgetting vegetables, salads and cereals etc.

Many slimming diets are based on increased roughage and produce much ‘gas’, as their adherents will tell.

The majority of people will tell you that the problem has got worse over the years, but they are not eating any more bread (probably less), but maybe the bread has other ingredients that are troublesome nowerdays?

Should you happen to buy bread from the supermarket (usually in a polythene wrapper), take time to look at the list of ingredients. Many will have extra soya flour added, and latterly I have noted ‘broad bean flour’ in the list, often in addition to soya flour.

No wonder we are blown up like barrage balloons.

Another point of note is that some breads contain a preservative to give them a longer shelf life, to delay the growth of bacteria. One is bound to wonder what long term effects there are from such an additive.

We know we are less likely to get bacterial food poisoning, but have preservatives had a negative effect on our gut?

Have they modified or eradicated many of our ‘normal’ bacteria, the kind that keep us healthy?

Hence the increased use of probiotics and live yoghurts nowerdays.

But it is true, some people will be intolerant or allergic to bread, and miss out on a wonderful food that has safe vitamins/minerals in the flour that is used.

Paul Jacques, Threshfield

Think about where your food comes from

Sir - With Fairtrade Fortnight people up and down the country celebrated the difference Fairtrade makes and standing with the farmers and producers who make the products we love.

This year we invited people to ‘Come On In’ to Fairtrade and find out about the lives of the people who make the things we love to eat, drink and wear.

We want people to stop and think about the people behind the products they enjoy every day, and find out how Fairtrade helps producers in developing countries.

It’s a sad fact that exploitation is still rife in our food chains.

It’s not easy to think about but when you consider that: 1 in 3 people in Kenya’s coffee and tea growing regions live in poverty, or that the average cocoa farmer in Côte d’Ivoire lives on less than 40p a day you can see that Fairtrade is as needed now as it ever was.

So, next time you buy a coffee or tuck into some delicious chocolate, pause for a second and think about where it came from, the farmers who grew the coffee beans or the cocoa, and consider choosing Fairtrade to ensure they get a fair deal.

You can find out more about Fairtrade Fortnight and the work of Fairtrade at www.fairtrade.org.uk

Cheryl McGechie, Director of Public Engagement, The Fairtrade Foundation

I don’t want my taxes spent on this rail work

SIR - If the proposed Skipton to Colne railway is the business success that its supporters claim, then the finance to reinstate this line should be obtained, as the early railways were financed, by setting up a company and inviting the public to buy shares in it.

I do not want my money (‘Government money’ is money obtained by taxing you and me) to fund the scheme.

How much ‘public’ money has already been spent on studying and publicising this scheme?

The money would be better spent subsidising the underused double-decker ‘Witchway’ (X42) bus which runs about half-hourly between Skipton and Manchester via Colne (and Barnoldswick & Kelbrook) from 0620 to 1845 hrs, taking only 35 minutes to get from Skipton to Colne.

Douglas Goode, Mallory Court, Brewery Lane, Skipton

Putting record straight on the council tax rise

SIR - It is important to correct some misleading comments in two letters published in the Craven Herald of March 8 from Mr Paton and Mr Corp.

Conservative-controlled Craven Council is putting up its Council Tax by £5 a year (approx 2.99%) for Band D taxpayers not the higher figures indicated in the letters. Compared to increases by other authorities, this is a small increase.

Furthermore, Mr Paton’s letter refers to “sheer hypocrisy” by Conservatives.

He was a Green Party Councillor who resigned from Skipton Town Council within months of being elected in 2015 costing Skipton taxpayers approx £5,000 for the resultant by-election. That is really wasting taxpayers’ money.

Councillor John Dawson, Gainsborough Court, Skipton

Support the work of crucial forces charity

SIR - This year, SSAFA the Armed Forces charity, will mark 100 years since the end of World War One.

The charity, of which I am a proud Ambassador, was there for our Armed Forces family then and they’re still here for them now.

For over 130 years and through a number of conflicts, SSAFA has shown its commitment to our service men and women, veterans and their families; relieving need, suffering and distress through its network of local branches.

At the outbreak of World War One, the Government called on SSAFA to take care of the families of soldiers in Yorkshire who were going to the Front and the charity has been helping military families ever since.

Throughout 2018, SSAFA will be commemorating all those who served during the Great War and encouraging the public to remember those relatives who fought, while also acknowledging those soldiers and veterans who served in more recent conflicts and need our help today.

To find out more about how you can fundraise or support SSAFA in this centenary year, please visit ssafa.org.uk/world-war-100

Dan Snow, World War One Historian and SSAFA Ambassador