The wrong move

Past experience has shown that some of the agreements announced by Craven end up either not being fulfilled or not what we were led to believe.

The previous agreement would safeguard the development, they said. Were we misled or are they just incompetent?

They told us the two reasons for selling green field land to HML were to safeguard and create employment in Skipton and to build new headquarters for the council. Neither of these, in my view, was achieved and it would not surprise me if during the financial downturn over the next few years, the building will end up being part of Skipton Girls’ High School (The Goodfellow annexe?) We also hear that the Government is freezing council tax for a year and scrapping the building requirements.

Craven Council will no longer be able to use this to push though ill-considered plans against local opposition.

I suggest the council starts saving costs, but considering it is the same people in office who were criticised by the Audit Commission, I doubt they have the ability. In my opinion, it is full of self-serving councillors, who, incidentally, just managed to get their allowance increased.

The sooner these politicians are replaced by people who are interested in the local community and area the better. One day I hope, local democracy will return.

AJ Anderson, Beechwood Drive, Skipton

Strange decisions

Sir - I note that the council is to consider the application of scaled-down plans for a new car park at Skipton Castle. Refusal of these plans is to be recommended on the grounds of detrimental impact on historical settings of listed buildings and the wider conservation area. Noise and disturbance for people in a nearby cottage is an added factor.

Are the people who will make this recommendation the same people who happily recommended the recent development by HML and the council’s move to Belle Vue Mills? Schemes deliberately designed with inadequate off-road parking provision, regardless of the detrimental impact on hundreds of residents and the local environments!

One could be forgiven for harbouring uncharitable thoughts!

Keith Hillery, Hall Croft, Skipton

Bikers – think!

Sir - Think Bike. The slogan is supposed to encourage us all to consider the plight of motorcyclists, having to compete in the dangerous world of riding on public highways, against other users, including car and HGV drivers. My view is a slightly different one, namely to encourage (certain) motorcyclists to ‘think’ about other road users.

I was cycling north from Gisburn on Saturday lunchtime, on the A682. As I came over the brow of the road, having passed the Halton West left turn, a milk lorry and three cars came around the bend in front, heading south from Long Preston.

A motorcyclist came around the same bend and immediately crossed the double white line, attempting to overtake them all, heading straight for me.

Under such circumstances, I had three choices of action. The fact that I’m able to write this letter shows that I luckily chose the right one; no thanks to the leather-clad lunatic.

The roads of Yorkshire are not the training ground for the Isle of Man TT, nor are they void of other road-users, such as horse riders, cyclists, walkers, tractors and trailers and other motorcyclists. The fact that two of the latter killed each other on the B6255 to Hawes last month seems to be lost on some “budding Barry Sheens” and yet we local people are left to pick up the pieces.

Paul Emsley, Newton Way, Hellifield

Driven to criticise

Sir – Hospitals are being targeted for being unfair on drivers. Some are taking more than £1.5 million in parking charges and fines. And why shouldn’t they? Irresponsible drivers cause more stress and death than enough. They put far too many people in hospital.

The cost to the NHS and the welfare system runs into billions. Hospitals helping to eradicate them are surely doing the nation a favour. Like cancer, the sooner such drivers are identified and treated the healthier the nation will be.

Critics of hospital parking charges say drivers attending hospital are the last people who should be stressed out. What about cyclists? For every driver who is stressed by parking charges, a cyclist will be stressed a great deal more by a driver passing too close and too fast. And not just by the odd driver, but by the vast majority.

People might cycle because they are poor, to reduce pollution or to stay fit and healthy. And who raises as much as anybody for cancer research? At least 6,000 cyclists will ride from Manchester to Blackpool for Christies cancer hospital. They are the ones who should be first in line for a fairer deal, not whinging drivers who can’t play by the rules.

Someone who throws their weight around in school or the workplace is essentially referred to as a bully, if not a thug, and there are plenty of initiatives to identify and deal with them. Drivers who throw their weight around are surely far worse – they put more people in hospital, they stress our over-stretched emergency services.

Let Holland – where children can cycle to school without fear, and their state of well-being is considered to be the highest in Europe – be our guide.

Allan Ramsay, Radcliffe Moor Road, Radcliffe

Wood you believe it!

Sir - Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, Craven Herald hang your head in shame!

I very much enjoyed your article in last week’s Craven Herald entitled “How a craftsman in wood is helping to restore trees”, especially as I am a joiner by trade and in my youth Thompson of Kilburn, The Mouseman, was one of my idols for their reputation of quality and precision in oak furniture. Incidentally all the businesses with high reputations for wood craftmanship were at that time in the northern belt of urban conurbations.

But for you to publish that article and not to highlight one of Skipton’s finest treasures is unforgivable.

Skipton Town Hall’s Council Chamber is entirely furnished with Mouseman oak, panelling, seating, desks, mayoral chair and so on. It’s laid out on a semi-elliptical plan and is in a fine state of preservation and what’s more it belongs to the people of Skipton.

For any of your readers with an interest in Skipton if they have not seen this lovely woodwork they should take the opportunity of attending a council meeting to see this fine work of craftsmanship and to see it used for the purpose for which is was designed.

In fact how about by way of contrition getting your Stephen Garnett to take one of his own masterpieces of craftsmanship and publish a photograph of the Council Chamber for all to see?

John Kerwin-Davey, Newmarket Street, Skipton

The highs and lows

Sir - The Outward Bound Trust is looking for the one million-plus people who have participated in an Outward Bound course since its inception in 1941.

For nearly 70 years, generations of young people have been having the same intense Outward Bound experiences and we would like to hear about them.

Over the decades the mountains have been just as daunting, the weather just as unpredictable and the water just as icy. At the same time, the trials, the triumphs, the highs, the lows and above all, the learning, have been equally powerful. There are a million stories of personal growth, adventure and fulfilment waiting to be told and shared.

The Trust has created a unique space outwardboundgenerations.org.uk for all the generations of Outward Bounders to share their stories. We want to place the different generations of Outward Bounders in the same “room” online and give them the chance to share their stories. “Generations” will create a new community of shared experiences that reach across the decades.

Over a million people have attended Outward Bound. This is the time for them to connect and share their story. All Outward Bounders need to do is visit outwardboundgenerations.org.uk and tell it how it was.

Nick Barrett chief executive officer, The Outward Bound Trust, Kensington High Street, London

A sign of the times

Sir - Congratulations to Giggleswick Parish Council, who know an eyesore when they see one.

They have at last replaced the broken, rusty and shabby sign at the left-hand end of Settle Bridge, which informed travellers that they were entering Giggleswick.

In doing so, the council has exercised commendable economy too. The replacement sign was previously attached to the back of the other larger sign on the right, which announced on its reverse side that travellers were entering Settle, requesting drivers to drive carefully (or, as it reads from time to time, to die carefully.) Signs should be succinctly informative, visually clear and aesthetically appealing, whether they are black on white or azure on cream.

For a prime example of hideous signage, look at the junction at the foot of Belle Hill, leading into Church Street, a masterpiece of visual discord by the Highways Department, not the PC.

John Mayall Bankwell Road, Giggleswick

The end of the line

Sir - Could I through your paper request the following:

1. Road signs, temporary speed limits, etc which have been left and are obsolete for ages.

2. Signs showing when fetes, meetings, galas etc, that are well past their sell by date.

These should all be removed by the people concerned as they are an eyesore!

Mrs J Wilson, Crowtrees, Tosside

Subtle design

Sir - I am very happy to retract my recent protest against Grassington Festival’s art world on Elbolton Hill.

Some of us had been led to believe that there might be a written slogan inscribed on the hillside, but in the event, the simple and delicate design, softly illuminated by night, did credit to all concerned and no harm to the environment.

It will have given pleasure and interest to many residents and visitors, including the undersigned!

Kate Rhodes Hebden Road, Grassington

Academy moves

Sir - Many may be aware that the Academies Bill is currently going through Parliament and the Secretary of State for Education has written to every school in the country to inquire if they have an interest in applying for Academy status.

Academies are schools which operate as independent schools, free from local authority involvement and are state-funded. They are also exempt from the Freedom of Information Act and the national pay and conditions agreement for teaching staff. Maintained schools that have been adjudged “outstanding” by Ofsted can be fast-tracked and in theory could start the new academic year with Academy status.

Regardless of whether people agree or disagree with the Academy structure, there is a larger issue of democratic deficit that has been raised during its readings in the House of Lords, that is well worth flagging up to local readers.

As the Bill stands, legally, the school has no obligation to consult with parents, staff or the local authority before applying for and converting to Academy status. The headteacher and the governing body can take the decision to become an Academy without recourse to any stakeholder group.

If you are interested in finding out if your school has expressed an interest in becoming an Academy, you can visit the DfE website which lists those schools that have expressed such an interest so far: education.gov.uk/academies/schools-registering-interest. Obviously, expressing an interest does not mean that a school will adopt or be able to adopt this status, but it is the first step along the way, and in the interests of transparency and public accountability, all stakeholders should be part of the process.

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

Coffee mates

Sir - I work for a small international aid agency and we have projects in progress in a number of countries.

One of our biggest projects involves the development of a Kenyan orphanage and Aids Widows Centre near the Ugandan border.

On Saturday, Mary and Richard Maxfield of Threshfield hosted a coffee morning at their home. Within three hours, over £600 had been raised. This is enough to keep our Aids Widows Day Centre running for another six months, providing food, medicines, a doctor and social support to some very desperate women. It would have run out of funds at the end of this month.

I am so grateful to the people of Threshfield and wider area, for their huge generosity and of course, to Richard and Mary for throwing open their house and organising the event.

This money will make a real impact immediately. There will be some very happy and healthier widows in Western Kenya. Thank you everyone.

Maggie Tookey, Edinburgh Direct Aid, Mary Street, Farnhill.