Village ‘spoiled’ (From Craven Herald)

Village ‘spoiled’

10:20am Saturday 17th July 2010 in

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Sir - Our village of Ingleton is dying due to over development.

There are now three building sites going on at the moment. This is hardly fair as there are hardly any shops and no work.

But as we have seen in the past the planners at Craven don’t give a thought for old people, who came to Reid House for a quiet and peaceful life. Even our councillors don’t care. This used to be a lovely quiet village, but no more.

It is an attractive tourist attraction, or was. Even tourists have remarked how it is being spoiled.

As for tourism, the council in their wisdom have cut out their grant for our tourist office that is all done voluntarily by the people of Ingleton. And I always thought that tourism was the main industry in Craven.

Councillors, I understand, have given themselves another rise. Is that really fair in this present climate?

We pay their wages and should have a say in what goes on. But as always we are out of sight and out of mind at Ingleton.

I don’t think that the council know what is going on at this end of Craven, They want to come and have a look now and then. Our car park is a disgrace.

Please don’t let our village die.

John Clapham, Reid House, Ingleton

Academy debate

Sir - I would like to take the opportunity of setting Loretta Gooch’s mind at rest about where I, as a Liberal Democrat, stand on the issue of academies (“Narrow the Gap”, July 8). Like her, my main concern about the academies programme is that its net effect will be to polarise social groups and essentially create a two-tier system of education.

Recent independent research into the schools who have expressed interest in switching status so far has shown that they are in areas dominated by the affluent and middle classes, particularly in the Home Counties.

I am only too aware that the Academies Bill needs to be flagged up to all concerned citizens, as it would fundamentally alter the nature of state provision of education in England.

Also the fact that it is being introduced without consultation with stakeholders shows a worrying lack of transparency.

I and 82 other Liberal Democrats have already sent a petition to those Liberal Democrats now in Government, asking them to vote against the Bill. It is also the case that so far approximately 192 amendments to the Bill have been tabled as it travels through the House of Lords – many coming from Liberal Democrat peers.

It continues to be the responsibility of Liberal Democrat party members and parliamentary spokespeople, such as myself, to hold our colleagues in Government to account.

It is inevitable that compromises will have to be made on both sides in a coalition government.

However, the wider goals of social justice, and indeed narrowing the gap, need to be constantly at the front of all of our minds. It will certainly always be at the forefront of mine.

Helen Flynn, Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesman for Skipton & Ripon, Low Lane, Darley

Concern on buses

Sir – Last week we returned from Keighley on the Keighley & District service (hospital appointments).

Normally the Keighley & District and Pennine buses fail to co-ordinate both inward and outward on most days.

On this particular occasion it looked like the connection might work – until we hit the town-centre congestion.

Now the bus we expected to catch was the 17.30 from Skipton leaving for Carleton.

We saw our connection standing in the bay, but by the time the Keighley bus pulled in the Carleton one had pulled sharply out, leaving us no alternative but to take a local taxi home.

So why is there no co-operation between the various services?

It seems a sorry reflection on what should be a useful system, and very awkward when you return with bulky and very heavy loads after shopping.

Can we have some answers from those concerned please?

Mrs C Bone, Dale Crescent, Carleton-in-Craven

A hopeless quest

Sir - It is interesting that President Obama intends to spend billions of tax dollars on solar energy development. Spain and Germany have given up on this hopeless quest.

Can Europe and the USA really learn nothing from each other?

Godfrey Bloom.

UKIP MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire and Member of the Environment Committee in the European Parliament (substitute) Main Street, Wressle, Selby

Loss of revenue

Sir – As someone approaching 60 I was dismayed to see that free swimming is to cease shortly.

I appreciate this is due to government cutbacks but I would ask the council to consider continuing the scheme. The premises have to be open, and staffed, no matter what.

Also, the pool and changing areas will still need to be heated and illuminated, so I cannot see the council making any savings. In fact, there may be a loss of revenue from the over-60s not using the cafe.

Mr D Radcliffe, The Hawthorns, Sutton-in-Craven

Beware the heat

Sir – With the recent bout of hot weather, we should be reminded that animals suffer and die when temperatures soar. Dogs die very quickly in hot cars and they should not be left inside them even for short periods.

Other animals suffer, too. Rabbits must not be left in a hutch in the glaring sun or inside a sweltering garage or shed. They need a cool, shady place where the air circulates, and where they are able to move freely. A hot rabbit can be kept cool by applying cold water gently to his ears. Should your rabbit become listless, or start breathing hard through an open mouth or go limp, get him to a vet immediately. Rabbits must also be checked daily throughout summer months for signs of flystrike.

Smaller animals, like hamsters, rats and gerbils, can be kept cool by opening windows and closing curtains, using a fan (but not pointing it directly at them), refreshing water and providing a frozen water bottle, wrapped in a towel, so that it cannot be chewed.

Kate Fowler Head of Campaigns, Animal Aid, Bradford Street, Tonbridge

Caravan memories

Sir – I would like to issue an appeal for help from your readers.

I run the Seafield Caravan Park in Seahouses, Northumberland, an award-winning holiday venue that I know from my records is hugely popular with people in your part of the world.

On June 1 the Seafield site celebrated the 50th anniversary of welcoming our first holidaymaker.

I want to mark this milestone by staging an exhibition of five decades of caravaning, but all our photographic records from this family-run business have been lost.

I wondered if any readers of the Craven Herald who have enjoyed a holiday at the Seafield would contact me with any memories they may have?

If they have copies of any photographs of their time on holiday at the site which they could send me, with any dates or names of those featured in each snapshot attached, then so much the better.

A selection of the photos and recollections will be put on show at the Seafield to illustrate that however much the world around us may have changed, the British have an enduring affinity for caravaning.

Ken Britton, Seafield Caravan Park, Seahouses, Northumberland, NE68 7SP. e-mail: info@seafieldpark.co.uk

Meningitis warning

Sir – I would like to remind your readers to be vigilant to the signs and symptoms of viral meningitis as the temperatures continue to soar this summer.

Cases of the disease are known to peak during periods of hot weather.

Although viral meningitis isn’t life-threatening, it can take people a long time to recover and there is no vaccine to prevent it.

I was struck down by a rare form of viral meningitis in September 2005. It came on very suddenly and at first I though I’d had a stroke as I couldn’t feel the left side of my body. Then violent headaches started and I started to drift in and out of consciousness.

Doctors diagnosed meningoencephalitis – a rare form of viral meningitis which causes inflammation of the brain. I spent a total of six weeks in hospital and needed three months off work to recover. It left me struggling with my co-ordination and speech, fearing my acting days would be over.

Having had meningitis myself I know what people go through with it and also what they constantly go through after having had it, which is why I’m supporting Meningitis UK and urging people to be extra alert at this time of year.

The initial symptoms are the same as bacterial meningitis, its more dangerous counterpart, which can kill in under four hours. Meningitis UK advises people to look out for a headache, stiff neck, dislike of bright light, fever, feeling sick, confusion and drowsiness, diarrhoea and aching joints.

Treatment is usually rest and painkillers, and most people make a full recovery without being admitted to hospital. But, in a small number of cases, people who have suffered from viral meningitis may experience after-effects such as recurring headaches, exhaustion, deafness, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), memory loss, lack of co-ordination or confusion.

I would urge your readers to request a symptoms information pack, or make a donation to the Search 4 a Vaccine Campaign, by calling Meningitis UK on 0117 3737373 or visiting meningitisuk.org

Joe Swash, Actor and Meningitis UK patron, c/o Cleeve Wood Road, Downsend, Bristol

So-reliable Reliants

Sir – Normally we don’t watch Top Gear but when we saw that Jeremy Clarkson was doing a bit about Reliants we just had to look see.

Having owned three different models we just had to find out how he would hammer them.

Knock them he did for sure by rolling them over several times in a well-staged scenario.

Our first Reliant was one we paid the princely sum of £50 for. Today it wouldn’t have a cat in hell’s chance of passing an MOT. The bottom half was aluminium, the top fibreglass.

We had it for two years and it would go like the clappers, it carried the three of us down to North Wales camping gear and all.

The exhaust was mounted close to a wooden floor and protected by an asbestos cloth. This slipped off at one point and set the wooden floor smouldering. Our water bottle solved the problem.

Well we part-exchanged this banger for a 500cc van, a little bit posh to us. In this we took to camping a lot and also loaded a junior tandem and solo bike on the roof rack. Away we drove down to Felixstowe, dumped the van in a pub yard for 50p, and then took the ferry to Rotterdam in Holland.

After a 500-mile two-week cycle tour in that fair country we picked up our Reliant, which started first time.

Next move up the status ladder was a part-exchange with Dick Rattliffe’s Reliant dealer shop in Haworth. Here I managed to buy a brand new 700cc Reliant van for £300 which made our daughter’s eyes pop out, so off to France we went.

It was our first trip across the Channel in a motorised vehicle, and I managed to wangle three weeks leave from the Post Office (I was a postman-driver).

Not one other Reliant did we see on the Continent. I guess ours was the first to brave the Paris Peripherique too.

We went as far as Lauterbrunen in Switzerland and on our way had many questions asked about our ‘voiture avec trois roux’ (car with three wheels).

Working on our campsite was a young lad from Embsay and he said he had never seen another in his two years there.

Despite Jeremy Clarkson’s knock we had a great time with all our Reliants – we even pulled a trailer at one time.

With them doing more than 60mpg what a bonus it would be with the price of petrol these days.

Francis A Forrest, Dale Street, Earby