Have your say

This scheme has radically changed from that which emerged from the Skipton Renaissance process and the lengthy consultation in September 2007.

The footprint and roofline of the buildings are very different from the Accent scheme that followed that consultation. Lovell propose to place a three to four- storey apartment block at the top of the hill, close to the edge of Granville Street, getting rid of the cherry trees, the green space and the view of Airedale valley.

They propose only one traffic entrance and exit for 60 dwellings. Not only will traffic increase at peak times, but the traffic will concentrate on the Belgrave Street junction and there will be overspill parking.

I live opposite the site, so I have a particular interest in this scheme, but I am equally concerned as someone who loves Skipton that this part of town, which offers amenity to so many locals who live near, walk by and enjoy the streetscape, will be ruined. I do not oppose development on the site, but I do care greatly that the shared joys of our lovely town are continually being eaten away by insensitive development.

The scheme can be viewed at Craven District’s offices at Skipton Town Hall and at Granville Street and online at cravendc.gov.uk. Lovell’s address is available at those places.

So, Skiptonians, the period for consultation is short. Please view the scheme and make up your own mind.

Jane Houlton, Granville Street, Skipton

Problem journey

Sir - I have read with interest the discussions regarding the High Street development and the suggestions raised in your letters column. As with most things, everyone will have an opinion, usually different, so most people end up displeased with the final outcome.

I wasn’t going to enter the debate – until last Wednesday, August 11. I left home in Embsay to go to Morrison’s at 9.50am. My journey was uneventful until half way down the Bailey where we slowed and eventually crawled to the roundabout at Holy Trinity. First problem – a tourist coach stopped outside the town hall disgorging its passengers and limiting the road to one lane. Slow progress along the High Street until the pedestrian crossing at Otley Street, where we halted for many minutes while the second problem – a large lorry – attempted to negotiate the roundabout. I had plenty of time to notice all the market stall holders’ vehicles still parked on the setts and the disabled cars parked on double yellow lines along the High Street side of middle row. As I walked into the supermarket, the clock said 10.22am.

The following morning I left home at roughly the same time and had a lovely journey alongside the Wharfe through glorious countryside, arriving approximately 18 minutes later in Ilkley. No hold-ups, no pollution, beautiful scenery and, most importantly, two supermarkets. As my children would say, it’s a no brainer!

I have, as you would expect, a solution, but as a woman wouldn’t expect this to be taken on its merit. By all means demolish the building in question, but open up the space created to provide a new wider, safer entry to the town hall car park, with the additional spaces provided for disabled drivers and market traders only. Whilst at it, make Jenny Croft pedestrian-only, eliminating the death trap it currently is and reopen Brewery Lane at the earliest possible opportunity. That way, we locals can avoid the High Street.

I shall be interested to follow this story, but for the time being may occasionally turn right for Ilkley not left for town.

Janet Webb, East Lane, Embsay

Parking plan

Sir - Parking was always bad in Skipton, even when I was a lad some 40 years ago coming from Bradford, but to lose 40 car parking places is a lot for Skipton. If it’s right what the article in August 5 said, isn’t it time to have a three-floor car park, not just going up but going down?

Max Hey, Fairway Grove, Bradford

Pleasurable read

What a pleasure it was to read two concise and apposite letters from Ian Knowles and Tom Gibson about the proposed High Street redevelopment. A pleasant change from the lengthy diatribes we usually see from wannabe politicians and local councillors.

Peter Warburton, Stirton

Flooding plea

Sir - Small picture, but massive headache for the people affected. I refer to your feature (August 12) on Skipton’s latest flood, if, of course, another one has not occurred in the meantime!

Twenty-minute downpour, that is all it needed – if indeed the downpour actually lasted so long. Reason for the flooding – plain and simple, the town centre drainage system simply cannot cope.

Who then in their right senses – bar those possessing an insatiable greed for gold – would ever approve of any more building on green field sites around the town? Among the people affected close to where your picture was taken was an 89-year-old relative, for the second time in a year. And, following the previous episode, we have constantly checked all the grates in her locality, irrespective of any highways, programming. Indeed, only a few days previous to this latest flood and they were all clear.

In my youth, there was also plenty of heavy rain and, on occasions, for much longer, but the same locality never flooded then. To all those therefore in authority – please take heed and take any future green field site building proposals outside and well away from our already “concrete jungle” shrouded town.

Roger Ingham, Aldersley Avenue, Skipton

Publicity stunt

Sir - With regards to the article and picture of Burnley and Pendle buses (TransDev) sponsoring a sheep for Skipton. The article should have read that the bus had fictitious passengers on board and that it was only a publicity stunt.

The bus was parked in the layover bay. This is an area where the drivers have their rest periods and buses are manoeuvring. Health and safety dictates that passengers should not be walking around this area. The bus should have been on Stand Two.

The passengers were asked to sit on the bus while the picture was being taken and one of them was the Burnley and Pendle publicity officer. You will find that the bus left the station with only three passengers on board and were not as happy as the photograph made out.

I am shocked to see that an article in your paper is misleading your readers and that a Craven newspaper is supporting a Lancashire-French company who are trying to run our local bus company off the road. Pennine Motor Services employ local people who rely on the bus company for employment, and of whom I think are providing a sterling service in this economic crisis we live in. I should imagine this letter will not be published due to the false passengers on board the bus.

MP Smith, Cumberland Street, Skipton

* Editor’s note: This picture story was to promote an event in the town in a lighthearted way. Obviously the picture was posed and was in no way intended to mislead.

Money concerns

Sir - Whilst reading last week’s Craven Herald, two items caught my eye.

The first one was Craven District Council’s latest restructure, supposedly saving another large sum. Shown on the CravenConfidential website, a figure of £240,000 of our council tax monies went to the previous chief executive and another £65,000 to the director who secretly signed up to the Leeds City Growth Bid before councillors and the public found out about it.

Think how much money could have been saved if such huge amounts did not need to be paid out to failed council officers. If this is the norm for council employees, then the sooner the new Government gets to grips with local government handouts the better. Early retirement and index-linked pensions into which we, the council tax payers, contribute nearly 30 per cent salary equivalent and employees about seven per cent should not be allowed to continue.

The other article is the scrapping of highway safety schemes in Cross Hills.

Three years ago, North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) employed consultants costing over £200,000 to obtain the public’s priorities within the South Craven Service Centre Transportation Strategy.

Top priority was pedestrian safety at the top of Station Road using traffic-light control and a lower priority was pedestrian safety at the top of Holme Lane, again needing a light-controlled junction. Because NYCC have been so slow in delivering the schemes, both have now been lost along with all our money.

Another priority was a new footpath on Holme Lane. This has been done, but unfortunately at the junction with Holme Close, where the pavement should have been 1.2m wide, it has been made at 1.5m creating a new traffic hazard.

Now, two large vehicles can no longer pass and vehicles are actually bumping the kerb stones. We were assured that this money, over £200,000, was ring-fenced, but as the time taken to look at the schemes went on and on for years, lo and behold because of the procrastination we have now lost three years of work with all the attendant costs. You can be sure that the consultants got all their money.

Roger Nicholson Park Drive, Sutton in Craven

Expensive parking

Sir - Once again Craven District Council seems intent on self-destruction. I realise that they have a lot of baggage and refuse left by the previous administration to clear out, but do they have to pay for it by targeting the motorist.

On Friday August 13, my wife and I went to Keighley to exchange a faulty purchase and, as the retailer was in Keighley market we used the open air pay and display car park between the market and building and Church Green. The cost for one hour’s parking was 50p and a half-hour tariff was also displayed.

Later that day, my wife had an appointment at Skipton General Hospital and used the car for this. She also went to Focus and decided to buy paper towels etc from a stall on Skipton market that we normally patronise. As she was unable to find any free on-street parking, she used the pay and display at the back of the town hall. The shortest stay was one hour and for this she was charged £1.10p.

Is it really any wonder that CDC’s parking revenues are down when charges more in keeping with central Leeds or Manchester are being levied in a small market town? We spend far more time in Keighley and Colne these days than in Skipton as parking costs are something we, as pensioners, have to keep a careful eye on.

J B Cuthbert, Aire View, Cononley

Hospital praise

Sir - I have recently been taken care of in Castleberg Hospital following a head injury and can only sing the praises of everyone involved there.

I received the most wonderful care and believe I would not be as far on the road to recovery anywhere else. Thank you everyone in Castleberg Hospital, as well as all the kind people in Settle who helped me. Definitely the best place to live in all circumstances.

Maisie Holmes, Jessamine Cottage, Settle

‘Theme park’ fears

Sir - Many years ago, plans were passed in Hellifield for a railway visitor centre and a new road to the station (now known as the road to nowhere). As the residents of Station Road owned most of the old road and there was great congestion and often difficulty getting to the station and parking when there, everyone thought what a good idea. The new road was put in across agricultural land and a huge construction was built, with the roof of this only being visible from the road as the high railway ballasting covered the rest of the construction, all of this costing hundreds and thousands of pounds. Now, the theme park boys are saying we are going to make your road to nowhere a road to somewhere (Hellifield Leisure Park).

The poor residents of Station Road still have a worn-out road with all the traffic and now to be told they are going to have their magnificent views over the green field where their children have played for years taken away and replaced with Tarmac, cabins, cafés and cottages and thousands of people nearly in their back yards. It just beggars belief.

The theme park boys now would like to take our green fields that are flood plains in the winter, supporting thousands of wild birds that winter there. Often the land is so flooded it is difficult to walk over the field, but it is an amazing wildlife conservation area our local people love. It is a complex area of sinks and springs and a unique area of wildlife.

Our village hasn’t many redeeming features (Hellifield Peel being the exception), but it is a nice place and its assets are the surrounding countryside which attracts people to live here.

Now we are going to get that taken away from us if the theme park boys get their way, turning us into what? Recreation for the locals, they will say. But will we locals want to spend our time queuing with strangers to use overcrowded facilities that are really only there to amuse a caravan park? Not to mention how much it will all cost us.

We already have a nightmare of a road passing through us that carries huge wagons, commuters and holiday traffic. At times the roads are so congested the traffic backs half way to Hellifield when the pelican crossing is pressed in Long Preston, and yet the roads have been improved little in the past 60 years. Our villages will be nearly joined if Gallaber Park expands further and this is allowed to go ahead. It is already getting beyond recognition of how it was a few years ago. We will lose precious farm land and it will never be regained.

I do hope we can campaign against this and the new government can stop the rape of our countryside. So come on residents of Hellifield and Long Preston, let’s give these theme park boys the white knuckle ride they so deserve!

Chris Sharpe, Peel Terrace, Hellifield