Letters - March 14, 2017

This is when fully-sighted people can’t, or don’t want to see, what is obvious, even to a halfwit! As a resident of the lovely village of Hambleton, I just have to add my shock, amazement and disgust at the appalling decision made by councillors to grant permission for a further 165 houses to be built here.

This is an unforgivable outrage, obviously decided by people who don’t live here, are mentally blinkered when not seeing is a most obviously damaging, unpopular, unwanted and unnecessary disaster, which will be enormously detrimental to the lives and happiness of present residents.

Even now at times, the traffic build-up can be static right back from the lights at Mains Lane, over the Shard Bridge and back into the village over a mile back – what do they think another 165 cars will do?

For me and other elderly people, this decision is completely unacceptable. What on earth could have persuaded these non-local resident councillors to have made this disastrous, strongly-opposed decision.

It will be a mortal blow to what is currently, a superb, well-balanced village, and a lovely place to live.

Colin Glover

Willowcroft Drive

Hambleton

POLITICS

Get your facts right on Party’s record

There is nothing like a wannabe Labour councillor to get his facts wrong and sound like an amateur.

I can’t knock his enthusiasm and his naivety is touching, I suppose. Ian Treasure (Gazette Letters,March 13) brings up the two enterprise zones on the Fylde coast (in fact there are three) and without any sense of irony claims the credit for their existence for Labour.

Well, enterprise zones are the brain-child of former Conservative chancellor George Osborne. None of the three are actually in Blackpool, one in Wyre and two in Fylde, and all three were delivered as a result of bids and lobbying by Conservatives, whether it be Conservative led Wyre and Fylde Council, or MPs like Paul Maynard and Ben Wallace. So a Conservative idea, bids prepared by Conservative councils, supported by Conservative Member of Parliaments, and approved by a Conservative Government, and now according to Mr Treasure it’s all Labour’s doing. Clearly he certainly doesn’t even know what Conservatives have done for the region let alone what’s happening, or in his case what’s not happening, in his own party.

One of the only things Labour is bringing to Blackpool is the new tram extension up Talbot Road. However I have heard that Mr Treasure has informed Warbreck residents that he would scrap this and give the money to the police.

Very commendable but unfortunately it can’t be done as the rest of his Labour chums are hellbent on delivering this scheme costing a huge amount of money. Conservatives in Blackpool along with the majority of residents are against the scheme so perhaps Mr Treasure is actually campaigning for the wrong party as it would appear he doesn’t even agree with his own Labour party’s policies.

Coun Tony Williams

Conservative group leader

Blackpool Council

COUNCIL TAX

We need to know where tax goes

Please check your council tax! When receiving council tax bills for last year, the new ‘adult social care’ charge was introduced, which I saw as a very sly way to introduce a larger increase on council tax to cover the centrally imposed freeze of earlier years.

It was then easy to mark the new council tax figure correctly as a two per cent change (£17.28) and separately, adult social care precept of £17.41 (band A in my case) to make it look more palatable.

I now see that I have the increase in council tax again on a two per cent change and adult social care figure marked as a three per cent change, but it is now £44.57, a 156 per cent increase from the starting figure last year!

Who are these people ?

I did try three times to telephone, but our council has a policy of not answering phone calls and in any case, at the time of council tax bill roll out, they would pull up the drawbridge on council castle if they thought they could get away with it.

I do not agree with council tax existence at all, because it’s too much of a lottery on which town or city you live in these days on what services and quality level is received. However, as long as it does continue, the council should, at each year end, publish in lengthy detail those accounts for any and all to scrutinise, then provide a time span for questions, from which the press or public can satisfy their queries and really know where their money is going.

Chris Wiseman

via email

TRANSPORT

The railway guards are undervalued

I write in response to Northern Rail’s planned introduction of Driver Only Operation (DOO).

The following are some of the questions to which I feel rail passengers deserve answers:

* Who will assist the many wheelchair users to board and exit trains?

* If the driver has to assist, will trains be delayed?

* If the driver is taken ill, who will be present to arrange emergency service cover?

* Many railway workers are qualified in first aid and do an excellent job when passengers are taken ill, who will do this?

* Many station platforms are on a curve, how can the driver see from the cab to ensure all doors are clear of users?

Many railway users are reassured by the presence of a helpful guard. Guards provide an excellent service to many rail users, they ARE the railway and are very much undervalued.

CV Barton

address supplied