Letters - April 24, 2018

The proposed new four-lane dual carriageway road from Windy Harbour to Skippool (A585) has a budget of £150m.

The new road would cut across swathes of precious open countryside and require a bridge under Lodge Lane near Singleton Lodge Country House Hotel and Barnfield Manor.

Two horrendously complicated junctions very close together would be constructed, one at Skippool Bridge (near the filling station) and one near the River Wyre Hotel, replacing the current roundabout at the junction with Breck Road, Poulton.

Yet the existing key stretch of the A585, the two-lane and often congested section of nearly four miles from the M55 at junction 3 through Esprick to Windy Harbour, will remain completely untouched. And at Skippool, motorists will frustratingly have to complete their onward journey to Fleetwood on Amounderness Way, again a two-lane road that will receive no improvement. Traffic from Over Wyre via Shard Bridge will need to take a devious zig-zag route to take any advantage of the new road.

I consider the scheme is fundamentally flawed, but how many people are aware of it?

Just four consultation sessions have been held and awareness of the whole scheme has been communicated in a very low key and haphazard fashion.

For example, the consultation documents and questionnaire are dumped in a disorganised heap on a low table (pictured) hidden at the back of Poulton Library. This is not good enough.

Whether one is for or against a scheme of this mammoth scale and cost, it should be communicated in a far more effective and involving manner than this.

The consultation period ends on May 8 and so I urge anyone interested in obtaining more information to urgently contact Highways England on 0300 123 5000 or email [email protected]

J Bailie

FRACKING

Leave the shale gas where it is

Almost every word written by Derek Rogerson (Your Say, Gazette, April 20) is incorrect or meaningless waffle.

There is no shortage of gas, that is why the world price dropped dramatically two years ago and remains historically low.

The cost of new wind farms and new solar everywhere in the world has also dropped dramatically in recent years. Countries such as Portugal and Germany that invested more than us in hydro, wind and solar power are now able to phase out the use of coal and gas as fast as they can.

A sensible government would be investing in large and small scale battery storage. Leave the gas in the shale. Accept the will of the people and cancel all future fracking proposals.

Steven Bate

Ashfield Road Blackpool

POWER

Smart meters are pretty useless

The latest price rises by British Gas bring up once again the theme of smart meters being imposed on us.

We will all be more informed and more able to make savings, apparently.

Some years ago my energy company installed a smart meter at my home, and we have a little device in our kitchen which supplies us with useless information.

I haven’t the slightest idea what benefit it is to me.

First thing in the morning, the little screen is telling me that my electricity is costing me a rate of 3p per hour. I assume this is because my fridge is working.

I put just enough water into my kettle and switch it on and the hourly rate goes up to 49p.

I start again at 3p and switch on my triple A rated washing machine and the figure shoots up to 40p.

Later I use my new tumble drier and that goes up to 40p, too.

I have similar exciting revelations when I move to the gas items.

I have no idea whether or not these figures are accurate, or whether the bill readings are accurate.

The only thing I have learned from this rather pointless exercise is that if I am thirsty, I shouldn’t put the kettle on because it’s costing a fortune.

Or while wearing a T-shirt, a shirt, a thin jumper and a thick cardigan in the winter, and having the central heating set at only 18C, turn the heating off and shiver.

Don’t try to keep just one room warm by using just a gas fire, because the big bills still keep coming and rising.

I don’t need a smart meter to tell me that.

S Collins

Address supplied

AMERICA

Action not hot air is needed on guns

It is interesting that the latest sad mass murder occurred at a ‘Waffle’ shop given that the American Government is waffling on about gun control.

It’s not the citizen’s right to bear guns that is the problem although the people’s right to be safe should be the paramount concern.

Some people by their prior actions, character or mental health should be precluded from having access to guns.

Dennis Fitzgerald

via email