11:10am Saturday 12th December 2009
Sir - I’m sure the council’s offer of free parking for an hour a day to encourage people to do their shopping locally will be received in the Christmas spirit it is obviously intended, but is the timing right for it to do any real good?
The free hour offered is from 9am to 10am. Who rushes down to town so early to do their shopping?
The roads are still busy at that hour. The people who do their shopping in town during the day are mostly older people, many of whom rely on the bus, and young mums who are either getting babies ready or taking older children to school before shopping can begin.
Presumably, as the free parking offered is in December, the object of the scheme is to appeal to Christmas shoppers and an hour is not long enough to look in shops, choose presents and go for the necessary cup of coffee that is part of the whole experience at this time of year.
It has already been noted that such schemes implemented at the other end of the day in different towns have been successful and it is hoped that this one will be.
I think it would have stood a greater chance of success had Skipton’s free hour been at teatime rather than breakfast time.
Patricia Mason.
Sackville Street, Skipton
Sir - There has been a lot of talk in the media that the banks are wishing to do away with the cheque book.
I experienced the first hint of this some time ago when my bank stopped sending a new cheque book automatically until requested to resume the service.
Everything will have to be paid by debit or credit card or direct debit.
Through your newspaper, I would like to seek assurances from the banks that they will not do this without serious consideration. I am sure I am not alone in the way I manage my finances.
Living remote from shops and other services, we have accounts with fuel, feed, agricultural pharmaceutical, building material and other suppliers.
We also deal with a number of sole traders for other services. All these people are sent cheques by post when their accounts are due. Some of these people have no facility or the cash flow to justify remote electronic payment systems. Neither does the local surgery from where we get our prescriptions.
The cheque is an efficient and secure system of payment. I do not wish to revert to cash because it is not secure and I have to travel to a bank to obtain it at much greater cost than the postage stamps. Parking alone in most towns costs more than that. So withdrawing the cheque is in no one’s interest.
I could set up flexible direct debits with some of the accounts, but not all offer this service and it takes control of my finances out of my hands.
Direct Debits have very little benefit for the payer, much more for the payee and the bank. That’s how all those people got into debt – by allowing the financial institutions to take too much responsibility for their finances. Recent events should not inspire such confidence.
I could pay by internet banking if everyone would like to give me their bank account details and BT could provide a broadband connection (too far from the exchange apparently), but I understand it’s not very secure unless I buy computer security programmes at considerable expense. The banks’ websites are highly secure, but home computers are not.
The only beneficiary from the withdrawal of the chequebook is the banks’ bottom line. They will of course require fewer employees in the UK and that is where the savings come from. Very shortly we will have fewer branches as a result.
The only way to stop this particular piece of progress is for all those, like me, who wish to remain in control of their finances and live in remote rural areas to write to their MP, the FSA and the banks themselves.
If you doubt this will work, may I remind you of the time when some banks thought they would introduce a charge for their own customers for using the ATM (hole in the wall cash dispensers).
Enough people went into the banks and explained that they would simply revert to taking cash over the counter for the whole idea to be scrapped.
I for one will do the same and go into the bank when we visit town and make all payments possible over the counter.
S Bowman, West End, Summerbridge, Harrogate
Sir - For most of us, Christmas is a time for getting together with the family, celebrating with friends, eating wonderful food and exchanging presents. But for many of the UK’s nine million people with arthritis, it can be a surprisingly lonely time. Some people who are severely affected by the condition may be housebound in icy weather, while others are isolated by their own pain and the depression it causes, even when surrounded by people.
Arthritis doesn’t go away for Christmas, and just because someone doesn’t complain or is not obviously in pain doesn’t mean they are not suffering inside. To help, I’m proud to say that Arthritis Care is opening its help lines for extra days during the holiday. This special Santa Service means that people who are cut off by pain or loneliness can pick up the phone and get real support from someone who understands.
So, if you or someone in the family has arthritis, do keep Arthritis Care’s free number 0808 800 4050 nearby. It could make a real difference in a moment of need.
Jane Asher, President, Arthritis Care, Stephenson Way, London.
Sir - “Draconian action required whenever bikers are caught speeding – and still alive” (Craven Herald leader column, December 3). I’m glad we’re not getting hysterical about motorcyclists.
Most minority groups in this country are protected by law from persecution, but it seems motorcyclists are fair game for everybody, from newspaper editors to chief constables.
Car drivers can speed and crash without call for their vehicles to be crushed, potholers can put their own and many rescue volunteers’ lives at risk without calls for all potholes to be blocked, walkers and mountaineers can put themselves at risk with impunity, cyclists can dash about in Lycra ignoring all regulations known to man, but the biker, now he’s fair game – it’s just a pity horses and hounds can’t keep up or we could have a solution to the hunting ban.
As for the Craven Herald moving with the times, it seems the writer of the editorial was born too late. He would have felt more at home in the 15th century during the Spanish Inquisition where he would have been at the front shouting “burn him, burn him”.
Martin Winterburn, Coppy Road, Steeton
Sir - Settle College welcomes the announcement of the Local Authority (LA) review of education in North Craven. It will provide an excellent opportunity for consideration of the ways in which the best possible education can be provided for all children in the area.
The position of the sixth form at Settle College requires some clarification. Along with many other small sixth forms across the country, the college faces the challenge of maintaining high-quality provision in a broad range of subjects and so meeting the needs of as many young people as possible.
We believe that the sixth form is going from strength to strength and more than meeting this challenge.
Last year, our A2 students achieved a 99.04 per cent pass rate. This was well above national averages and more than 50 per cent gained passes A and B. In addition, the college is able to provide a range of courses in 27 subjects including A-level, BTEC, Open University Modules and the new AQA Baccalaureate.
In 2009, the LA has invested £250,000 in new facilities at the college, including a newly-refurbished Sixth Form Centre, a Post-16 Media Studies Suite and a dance studio. Further developments, currently in the planning phase, include new facilities for art, design technology and drama.
The college is also embarking on an exciting new curriculum programme, which is enabling students to start GCSE (Level 2) courses from Year 9 onwards and some students are already taking AS courses in Year 11 with notable success. College students already have access to the new Diploma through our collaboration with the rest of Craven.
We are currently bidding to lead on the delivery of the Creative and Media Diploma for the area from 2011. This bid is fully supported by the LA.
The Local Authority has made it very clear that it is absolutely committed to the preservation and continued development of Post-16 education in North Craven. It is important that, as the review progresses, parents and students are clear that whatever the outcome of the review, Post-16 provision in North Craven is secure.
Rosemary Rees, chairman of governors, William Bancroft, principal, Settle College
Sir - I was pleased to read the letter from Alan Sturgess. It’s nice to know that I am not the only one who is confused by the new road markings at the old roundabout between Skipton and Gargrave.
J Pullen, Russell Street, Skipton
Sir - With regards to Karen Witek’s comments of Chris Tate’s review of Slack Alice, Ermysted Big Band etc. at Skipton’s Mart Theatre, I would make the following comments: 1. She says he was waxing lyrical, conveying an obvious adoration. Chris has never seen Slack Alice before! I had no idea who he was until I made inquiries after reading Karen’s letter. He is a reporter of a national newspaper, so I was impressed with his unbiased views.
2. His comments of the “kids and parents leaving” was reiterated by another reviewer (for a highly-respected music magazine). With just three exceptions, the whole of the Big Band left immediately after their performance. Come on boys and girls, music is much more than learning to play, rehearsing and performing. It includes listening and watching and had they stayed they would have learned a lot for free.
3. This was also remarked to me by a lady who stopped me in Ilkley and said how much she and her father had enjoyed the evening along with her son, who is one of the guitarists in the Big Band. He along with two others stayed to watch the rest of the evening’s entertainment. But she was somewhat annoyed that most of the Big Band had left and thought it was quite rude.
4. What particularly upset me was they did not stop to encourage young Tom Scothern, one of their fellow pupils, and Daniel Stocker, who travelled down from University in Newcastle to play in his home town.
5. I think all these remarks can be summed up by one sentence – a lack of respect for fellow musicians, aspiring and seasoned!
6. One other very important point. One parent rang up for tickets and said her child was playing in the band, they did not want to see Slack Alice, so why should they pay full price? What kind of example does that send out to her child and other children. I also think it’s an insult to Anthea and her staff at the Mart who are trying and succeeding in difficult times to make the Mart a major entertainment venue in Skipton. Cliff Stocker, Town Head Cottages, Barnoldswick
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