Readers' Letters (From Craven Herald)

Readers' Letters

9:20am Saturday 2nd June 2012 in Letters

A foul welcome for narrowboat owners

Sir - My travels in my narrowboat take me to some lovely and attractive places, tempting me to return for another visit.

Then I get to Skipton where I have to do my best to moor up between piles of dog muck whilst trying to control a boat weighing 12 tons and with ropes trailing in this stuff. It is not funny when it is on your hands and footwear all because some dog lover couldn’t be bothered to pick it up.

Your children are walking in this stuff and everyone knows how dangerous it is to a child’s health and it’s not the dog’s fault. So please contact your local environmental health office on Broughton Road.

It’s your town, I’m only a visitor, for now.

D Hare Reedley Marina, Burnley

I was involved

Sir - Following the letter from Natalie Wright in the May 17 edition of the Craven Herald may I respond as follows: During the last civic year, I chaired the town council’s public services committee which met 12 times.

Officers of The Friends' group attended and spoke on four occasions. I read their submissions, listened to their requests and supported the application.

From these representations the committee agreed to relocate some surplus equipment to Lytham Gardens Play Area and to provide a grant of £750 to assist the fundraising of the support group.

In this way I was involved in the works, my election literature never claimed that I was a member of the fundraising team. I am continually working on issues for residents of East Ward and if requested to take part in local events (eg recent football match at Pasture Close which I helped organise) then I will do my best to participate. I look forward to helping all residents of East Ward achieve their aspirations for the area.

Eric Jaquin, Princes Drive, Skipton

Please fix lights issue

Sir - The other week I was travelling on Keighley Road from Snaygill to Skipton at around 8 o’clock in the morning and as I got nearer to the town centre I realised that there was no traffic queue and it was so quiet that it reminded me of an old science fiction film where the roads were deserted.

I approached the traffic lights at the Carleton road junction and I noticed that they were not working and on my return journey over an hour later the situation remained the same, no traffic hold ups and traffic lights still not functioning. Around 9.30am I was travelling again from Snaygill into Skipton and the situation was the same, no standing traffic and lights still not working, however, at approximately 2.30pm in the afternoon leaving Snaygill to go into Skipton, I came across standing traffic as far down Keighley Road as the Bold Garage.

The reason for the long queue of traffic soon became apparent, the traffic lights had been repaired and were now doing what they do best, holding up the flow of traffic and causing a tailback in all directions!

I hope the boffins in the traffic department have the opportunity to read this letter and perhaps replace the offending traffic lights with some nice, new, maintenance free, mini roundabouts similar to the one at the entrance to the Snaygill Industrial estate.

This would no doubt be a great relief to not only those who have the misfortune to travel this road every day but to the poor residents of Keighley Road who have to put up with what must seem to be a very slow moving continuous conveyor belt of traffic, along with its toxic fumes and noise, spoiling their right to the enjoyment of their own homes.

This would seem to be a simple solution but no doubt the decision making person who goes home to his nice traffic free house with a 100 foot garden in front of it, will find some Health and Safety reason/excuse not to let common sense prevail and we will all have to endure the never ending tailbacks until somebody sees sense or until the traffic lights break down again!

Mr A Tudor Barnoldswick

Time to work together

Sir - I write in response to Andrew Mallinson’s letter published May 17.

Cowling Parish Council have never been asked to give away the old dilapidated hall for “nothing in return”. They were asked to confirm the decision taken by the previous incumbents of their role that they would, as custodian trustees, sign over the old hall in exchange for a completed new hall. They refused to do so, subsequently resigning as custodian trustees.

To delve further and re-tell the story of how we have arisen at this point is unlikely to be productive. What we must concentrate on now is completing the new hall. Our approach to this is twofold. Firstly to continue to raise funds through local events and funding applications. We are extremely grateful for funding received from the Parish Council’s pledge of matching up to £25,000, of which we have so far received almost £20,000.

Secondly and with the money raised to date we are hopeful to shortly start on site. We recently received four quotations to complete the new hall. Our focus now turns to the inevitable task of delivering a new hall within our current budget and from further funds raised. We are confident that this can be done.

We are grateful for the support of the Parish Council and in particular to our district councillor Ady Green who has worked hard in securing the transfer of the new hall from Skipton Properties to the Village Hall Charity. It is not the appropriate time to criticise the efforts of either party but rather to join together in seeking the completion of the new hall fit for purpose.

Finally and slightly off topic, we want to say a big thank you to all who supported our Duck Race on Saturday. We had a great day and raised £836 towards the fit out costs of the new hall. Further donations to complete the hall can be made at on the internet at https://mydonate. bt.com/charities/cowlingvillagehall Glen Salt and David Rowe Co-Chairs, Cowling Village Hall

We decided to fight

Sir - It is with regret that I have to write this reply in response to Andrew Mallinson’s letter headed “Real conviction”.

Mr Mallinson knows nothing of the facts so I will explain to him so he and anyone else in doubt about our old and new village halls can read the truth.

I was on the parish council many years ago when we accepted the promise of a brand new finished hall in exchange for a housing estate and the old one thrown in. We agreed but as the recession took its toll, the developers could not fulfill their promise so we had a situation. Did we let them walk away and get away with it and still have a run down old hall but no new one or did we fight?

With a meeting and 98 per cent support, we decided to fight and when I say we I mean the village. I simply did as asked and went to work on getting the developers to stick to their guns and after months of negotiation, which Mr Mallinson was not part of, I arrived at a solution with the developers. I said I would back off with legal proceedings if they handed over the new unfinished hall and let us keep the old one to sell and help raise money to finish the new one.

That is what we ended up with so we sold the old one for £135,000 to put towards the new one valued at £400,000, se we had over half.

Ady Green, Ickornshaw, Cowling

No help

Sir - I think that we live in the most disadvantaged part of North Yorkshire having Coun Philip Barrett as our representative on North Yorkshire County Council, Craven District Council and Glusburn and Cross Hills Parish Council.

In the past few years I have asked Coun Barrett for help in order to get resident-only parking in our area in Cross Hills. Every time, help was refused.

Roger Dobson, Cross Hills

Scooters on trains

Sir - I was interested to read a letter in the Craven Herald about powered scooters on Northern Rail trains from Skipton to Leeds. I have recently had a problem in regard to my husband's scooter. We are going to London to The Queen's Garden Party, and we found out, quite by accident really, that Northern Rail would not carry my husband's scooter. I sent emails back and forth to Northern Rail, but like Rachael Taylor and her sister we were told that we would not be able to take the scooter due to, as they say, for Health and Safety reasons.

Eventually I contacted Look North and they covered the story, and we appeared on Look North. I can understand where they are coming from, but my argument was, that in this day and age, when disabled people are supposed to have equal rights, it should be up to Northern Rail to make it safe for disabled people to travel on their trains.

We can take the scooter on the East Coast train from Leeds to London. They say it is alright to take a wheelchair, But my husband is quite large, and I am only four feet nine tall, or small, as the case may be, so I can’t push him in a wheelchair. For one thing he is too heavy, and the second thing is, when he is in a wheelchair, I can’t see over him.

Fortunately, our problem has been solved due to some very kind people. Somebody from McDowells Transport in Keighley has very kindly offered to take the scooter to Leeds for us. And one of our friends in Haworth has offered to take my husband and I to Leeds.

I have spoken to a lot of people about this, and they are all in agreement with me, and not Northern Rail. I did send them an email to tell them what I thought of them, and the last sentence said. I hope you never find yourself in the same position as my husband, and a lot of other people in this position, or I think you may think very differently about this problem.

While I am on this subject, we have also found out that hotels don't cater for disabled people either. We have just been on a cruise taking the scooter with us. We travelled by air to Australia, via Abu Dhabi, with no problems whatsoever, also there were no problems on the ship.

So if we can do that, why can't Northern Rail carry these scooters.

Geraldine Lamb, Cross Roads, Keighley

Savings potential

Sir - I read with great interest the proposal to transfer the day to day management of Skipton Town Hall to a heritage trust.

Assuming the trust is a registered charity, it will deliver immediate operational savings through business rate relief, VAT exemptions and other tax benefits. This means limited public resources can be released for other vital community services.

It is hoped that this new arrangement will be a success and the town council and district council will look at the trust option for other community services.

Joanna Bussell, Mortlake

Clamping change

Sir - As of May 1, 2012, we now have the Protection of Freedoms Act in law. Within the framework of this act, the clamping of vehicles on private land is now illegal, a criminal offence. Evans and company take note.

B Smith, Cross Hills