Letters - July 19, 2017

I’m all for trying out new things but the decision to put that awful cafe in Central Library is quite simply one of the worst ideas ever.

Do the people who make these decisions have the faintest clue?

Admittedly, Central Library has been less than perfect for a few years, but now we have to put up with the clatter of plates and the stench of food.

This is quite simply the wrong environment for a cafe.

People want to research, use the web, apply for jobs and find and try to read - not sit in a canteen.

Our libraries are under enough pressure from this hideous government already and this God-awful cafe is simply adding insult to injury.

I believe the cafe is some sort of social charitable enterprise or something, and I wish them no ill but there’s a plethora of other venues and empty shops in the town centre where they can do their thing without ruining the library experience for people like me.

If the idea is to drive true library users away and instead turn Central Library into some sort of cut price cafe then the experiment is working as I simply won’t be coming back until it’s gone.

I know that others feel the same way.

Name and address supplied

HOSPITAL

Great staff and food at day unit

Two weeks ago I was in the cardiac day case unit at Victoria Hospital. The staff were great and food was great.

Angela Bellinger

Address supplied

APPEAL

Puppy smuggling needs tackling

Dogs Trust is calling on the public to help put an end to illegal puppy smuggling after an undercover investigation revealed shocking and continued abuse of the Pet Travel Scheme.

Puppies as young as four weeks old are still being subjected to horrifying journeys across Central and Eastern Europe and smuggled into Great Britain to be sold to unsuspecting members of the public, many sick and without the right vaccinations.

After working tirelessly to bring the issue of puppy smuggling up the Governments agenda, there remains a reluctance to acknowledge the scale of the problem or to implement any effective change.

Urgent action is needed to help transform the lives of these poor puppies. Dogs Trust is asking people to show their support by writing to their own MP to ask them to support our campaign by writing to the Minister for Animal Welfare.

They can visit www.puppysmuggling.org.uk to find out how to help. The campaign is backed by television and radio personality, Dermot O’ Leary.

Paula Boyden

Veterinary Director
Dogs Trust

TRAFFIC

Fears for road safety near shops

We have a new Tesco, Spar and Subway with their car parks, built about three years ago.

Lovely but there is no road crossing, or even warning signs about cycles, pedestrians on the road, to get cars to slow down.

There are bus stops on the road but nothing about children or the elderly.

This is on Garstang Road, Poulton. It used to be a garage, near to Moorland Road and Lidl and the business park.

Residents are very worried with school holidays coming up soon. Can anything be done before an accident?

Mrs Rees

Broadfield Avenue
Poulton

BREXIT

Referendum was too complex

Immediately prior to the referendum you published my letter in which I argued that to hold a referendum on such a very complex issue was crazy.

I quoted several studies that demonstrated that over 86 per cent of the voting public knew very, very little about the EU and its many components, such as the European Court of Justice , the voting system and , in particular, its financial mechanisms like the budget.

Several historical studies show that while referenda on issues like: capital punishment are acceptable as they are straightforward and easy to understand, the EU is a very different ball game.

Every day that passes confirms that we are involved in a complex web of negotiations that can only worsen. The legal and economic issues alone are nightmarish. A leading German economist, Dr Eldric, has recently said in a university lecture: “Britain has got herself into a very long, dark tunnel full of side tunnels and traps that has no known exit. Leaving the EU is akin to rolling a huge boulder up a very steep incline. It would task several Einsteins.”

He does not exaggerate.

One further point. The vote to leave was based on the one issue that most people could understand, namely inward migration. After all, many voters experienced the effects of this daily. The solution was simple, or so it was thought. Vote to leave, pull up the drawbridge and all will be well. The sad fact is that it will not happen.

Dr Barry Clayton

Thornton Cleveleys