Letters - July 28, 2016

I have just come back from a day trip visiting Liverpool, Formby and Southport. There are flowers everywhere. All the grass verges are cut and edged. There is very little litter about and all the places have a prosperous look about them. There are no buskers, they have clean public toilets. They have bus stations to stop the streets being congested with roadside stops. The residents have clean bus stations to shelter in. The streets are not clogged with people waiting patiently for the bus and shoppers trying to get past them on a meagre strip of pavement.

Blackpool looks shoddy, there is no getting away from it. The down is dirty. The town centre has moved to Hounds Hill.

The shops on Abingdon Street and Talbot Road have changed to charity shops and discount shops. It has become a second class shopping area. Will visitors using the new tramway really want to see that?

The councillors may want to reflect on what happened in Edinburgh when they ran a tramway up the Main Street.

And finally, where we really sink to the depths, we have Central Drive.

Would it not be better if the money for the tramway could be spent on giving people decent places to live in and a decent environment in which to bring up their families?

Marion 
Gourlay

Address supplied

DRONES

Post is hard enough without drones

How can drones delivering parcels ever work when a postman can’t even deliver a phone charger through my letterbox?

Last week I had to collect the said charger from the Post Office Depot five miles away because I was out when the postman arrived. He wouldn’t leave it on the doorstep and took it back to the depot where I had to collect it from after allowing 24 hours delay. Perhaps I should have left a mat on the front lawn for the parcel to be left on...

A.R.Thompson

Address supplied

FRACKING

Shale gas remains 
an unsafe bet

Shale gas is losing the battle to persuade both public and politicians that fracking is a “good thing” in our crowded country.

The local pro-fracking hard core have been re-badged and re-booted to try to win back some of the ground lost so dramatically at the public inquiry earlier this year. No doubt industry allies have been spooked by the Report from the Parliamentary watchdog (the Committee on Climate Change) which catalogued a range of unanswered threats from shale gas. The heat is really on again as energy company Cuadrilla awaits the outcome of its appeal.

Claims about who this group speaks for are so bloated they will convince no one. Shale gas is more unpopular and mistrusted now than ever. Facts and figures produced by and for the shale lobby look as hollow now as they did when paraded at the inquiry! This is the start of a campaign to airbrush out the failings with photo calls and banners before the secretary of state makes his decision. Thankfully, the planning inspector was actually at the six-week inquiry and RAG thinks the flag flyers for the industry are right to be worried. Shale looked an unsafe bet after their efforts in March, and spin, slogans and smiles make it no better now!!”

Elizabeth Warner

Roseacre Awareness Group

TRIDENT

Huge bill would pay for so much

The question of Trident reared its head again and parliament backed the proposal to order the new enhanced version of Trident.

Marjorie Nye had a superb informative, well researched letter in the Gazette on the subject, which explained her objection to nuclear weapons of mass destruction. It is an opinion shared by many millions of people and deserves much respect.

However it appears ex-soldier Barry Clayton does not give respect. His letter Gazette July 22 stated rather condescendingly ‘I can assure Marjorie Nye that the safety checks in place are impressive and double guarded’ and continued ‘near misses, so called, are deliberately exaggerated’. How can Barry give such an assurance to anyone?

Many scientists report the so called Doomsday clock to the end of civilisation, due to nuclear accident is only minutes away from midnight.

The Labour Party position has for many years been for Multi National Nuclear Disarmament, which is also something deserving of respect.

Most countries do NOT have nuclear weapons. Canada, the Scandinavian countries and all other Member States of the European Union bar one, do not possess weapons of mass destruction.

Leading scientists and many top military leaders now consider them an expensive option, which robs the state of funds badly needed to improve health care and alleviate poverty beyond our comprehension in many parts of the world; and which is fuelling mass migration.

In the UK our low wage economy means many although working cannot hope to buy a home and due to an insufficient supply of social housing, Rachmanism is rising again.

Over 300,000 families per week need/rely on help from Food Banks, a situation which in 2016 is appalling. Our police, education and NHS need increased funding. Our armed forces numbers have been run down to save money and I understand in many cases badly need investment in equipment to protect themselves and our nation.

Government grants to local government have been slashed ruthlessly.

Yet the replacement cost of Trident is conservatively quoted as £31 BILLION. A huge amount, which if nothing else is certainly thought provoking.

Jack Croysdill

Chairman. Blackpool North/Cleveleys Constituency 
Labour Party