10:20am Saturday 27th June 2009
Sir – For the gardener, the slug is public enemy number one: a hideous and slimy little monster which has no respect for plants. No matter how beautiful or valuable, flower or vegetable, it destroys all in its path.
So what might be public enemy number one for the cyclist? It surely has to be the driver on the mobile phone: a hideous and deadly monster which has no respect for any road user. But the cyclist has, without doubt, got to be its favourite ‘food’.
The monster will happily destroy all in its path. A trail of disturbance and angry pedestrians, cyclists, horse-riders and responsible drivers are left in its wake.
So how do we get rid of ‘slugs’ on mobile phones? Nothing like as easily as with slugs in the garden!
The £60 fine and three penalty points clearly doesn’t work. Only the police are allowed to ‘destroy’ them, but with so few police about, aren’t these ‘deadly monsters’ getting away with ‘murder’?
Isn’t it more than obvious that a more effective form of pest control must be put in place? So what say tougher penalties? Confiscate the phone and the vehicle for life, plus a driving ban. This way, the fear of being destroyed then lies with the ‘deadly monster’ rather than with the decent human being.
If you agree with this form of pest control you can vote online at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/mobilemenaceban/ or lvrc.org.uk offers a direct link.
It’s not so much for a healthier garden, but for the return of a green and pleasant land. Aren’t the vast majority desperate for it?
Allan Ramsay, Radcliffe Moor Road, Radcliffe
Sir – On behalf of the organising committee of Skipton Festival of Transport we would like to express sincere thanks to everyone who had any part in making our fourth annual event such a resounding success.
Our main sponsors, Roger Newhouse Volvo and Peter Watson at Skipton Self Drive, along with Craven District Council (CDC), ensured that we had a flying start to our event and for that we are extremely grateful.
However, as anyone who has organised events like this knows, many hours of planning are required and the co-operation of business, public body and interest groups are vital to ensure a smooth and successful transition.
Special thanks must go to Tracey and Suzanne from Barclays Bank, to Lynn, Shane and Imran (CDC), to the organisers of the charity stalls, to the Aire Valley Transport Group for running a marvellous bus service during the event and to Event Fire Services for providing the first aid and fire cover. Thank you also to the businesses and individuals who donated tombola prizes, cakes and so on.
Finally, a very big thank you to the committee and vehicle entrants from Craven Old Wheels, Dales Historic Vehicle Club and others, without whom the event could not take place.
We were pleased to receive Councillor David Crawford, chairman of CDC, and his wife at the event, his favourable comments made in interview to Fresh Radio were much appreciated. If we have omitted to mention anyone then please accept our apologies and be assured that the appreciation is just as genuine.
The day was blessed with good weather and when all receipts are in our nominated charities, namely Manorlands Hospice, Yorkshire Air Ambulance and Whitby Lifeboat, will each receive around £500.
Very well done to all concerned.
Jeremy R Trowsdale, vice-chairman, organising committee, Skipton Festival of Transport, Hurrs Road, Skipton
Sir - I live in York and have followed the debate on the proposal for fortnightly bin collections with great interest. I hope your correspondents and the good people of Craven are more successful than we were in keeping weekly collections. Don’t be misled by the spurious arguments in favour of fortnightly collections.
The reality is that this significant degradation of refuse standards causes ongoing problems with hygiene – miss a collection and, over the next month, you’ll have the pleasure of seeing your waste turning into smelly bio fuel before your eyes.
Of necessity, many of our residents now pass the time and improve their fitness by jumping up and down on the contents of their bin in an effort to create enough space to last the two weeks.
It’s a good way to see more of your neighbours’ garden, but obviously requires good balance, co-ordination and a first stage award in trampolining.
At the end of the fortnight, having to move a bin now roughly twice the weight it used to be requires muscle tone and stamina worthy of an Olympian. Heaven help those who can’t develop these skills or who have steep, long paths to negotiate.
Don’t forget, these things do not go away. They will become a permanent part of your life.
You have been warned!
Bill Marsh, Beadle Garth, Copmanthorpe, York
Sir - May I make a suggestion? As the council is looking into the convenience, cost and health and safety of two-weekly refuse collection, would it not be sensible for all councillors to trial this for three months to allow them to make a decision ?
Stuart Longbottom, Peel Green, Hellifield
Sir - It cannot be easy being a planning authority. People who do not know the facts give undue criticism, as with the Costa Coffee saga in Skipton whereby the planners, in their refusal, are simply abiding by the rules.
However, I do believe my criticism is well justified and here is the case.
When a planning application was submitted to convert the High Corn Mill, in Skipton, from retail to that of a church we, as a neighbour, were asked if we had any comments, observations or reasons for refusal.
Neighbouring businesses were all approached, as were residents, the Civic Society, Skipton Town Council and other interested parties. This all seems rather diplomatic – but what a complete waste of time. Why does the planning committee simply override any objections, of which there were many?
To quote from your article (Craven Herald, June 18), “the proposed use would draw a further group of people to the vicinity who would then be aware of the further services available in this part of Skipton”.
Whoever made this ridiculous statement would make a very good politician, for that is the sort of answer we are now so used to hearing.
Bob Wright, The Wright Wine Company, Raikes Road, Skipton
Sir – This is an email I have sent to Skipton MP David Curry. What do other readers think?
The “publication” of MPs’ expenses is totally disgraceful. It brings you personally into disrepute, all MPs into disrepute and Parliament into disrepute. It is more akin to the kind of thing one would find in a totalitarian regime, not in a supposedly sophisticated 21st century democracy and it makes me ashamed to be British.
The only way forward is to republish these expenses claims in an unredacted form and I ask you to raise this issue in parliament.
People have fought long and hard to get the Freedom of Information Act on the statute books and fought wars to stop this kind of thing happening.
It is a complete slap in the teeth for them and the rest of the public and ultimately a threat to our democracy.
On top of this we have some MPs who, on the face of it, have committed fraud. When are they going to prison and why should they have their inflation-proofed pensions and golden goodbyes?
I am just appalled.
Trevor Brown, Uplands, Skipton
Sir - I note with interest the two common photographic themes in the Craven Herald.
What I call the colourful “Skipping and Jumping” picture shows the various populous of Craven up to something energetic. Then there are the miserable pictures, usually in black and white, of hard-done-to people.
One photograph in the Herald caught my eye: miserable people outside an unkempt road sign that had not been weeded.
I live opposite a stretch of woodland once strewn with detritus. Instead of ringing the Herald to stand outside for a picture of said land, looking glum, I rolled up my sleeves and got to work with the other neighbours and “sorted it”.
Thus we turned a miserable photo opportunity into the opposite. The neighbours got to know each other as well.
So, come on, raise a smile and turn misery into magic. There may be votes in it!
Stewart Lewis, Esp Lane, Barnoldswick
Sir - In recent years, when travelling by road in Western Europe, I have noticed a new road sign.
This has the word ‘Reminder’ in black letters on a white background and below is the speed limit for that particular road.
Such a sign has now started to appear on British roads, in Scotland even on motorways. This is either a fixed roadside sign or an electronic mobile one.
Every week the Craven Herald reports on people convicted of speeding on Settle bypass and Beamsley Hill.
Would it not be a good idea if North Yorkshire Police, or whoever is responsible for road signs, took the initiative to try to reduce these numbers in a positive way by using this sign in addition to the camera pictures already displayed, instead of merely convicting offenders?
Stephen Hogben, Tarn Moor Crescent, Skipton
Sir - Yet again, one more complaint to add to the many as regards Skipton’s new bus station.
The so-called passenger area would be much better suited as a hothouse for tomatoes, cucumbers etc. It is inhuman to expect anyone to spend time in “the tunnel”, especially in the baking heat of summer.
The bus station is a complete fiasco and that’s putting it mildly.
Perhaps the powers that be could arrange for the Perspex roofing to be emulsioned over. This would alleviate some of the people’s discomfort while waiting for transport.
The bus station was supposed to be an asset to this lovely town. Alas, it’s turned out to be a failure and a complete waste of money.
Doreen Larson, Princes Drive, Skipton
Sir - I was quite astonished to learn that there is no pharmacy open on Sundays in Skipton; no rota system of any kind in operation.
My husband urgently required an antibiotic and he had to drive to Keighley, a 15-mile round trip, to get it.
How would someone elderly, living alone, unable to drive, living some distance from the bus – or unable to walk to the bus – acquire the medication they need on a Sunday?
How thoughtless and inconsiderate of residents in a town the size of Skipton to fall ill on a Sunday!
E Whiting, Aire Valley Drive, Bradley
* Editor’s note: The Sunday service was withdrawn by the North Yorkshire and York PCT in January 2007 and was taken over by the trust's out-of-hours doctors’ service run from Skipton Hospital. The trust says the GP on duty carries stock of most drugs so, in most cases, medicines can be dispensed directly to the patient.
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