Letters - October 7, 2016

No. We have to look forward. It MUST be sold to someone who has a proven track record of running airports and knows what they are doing. Certainly not a developer or house builder. OK, the airport management company can bring in developers if they think it can help in re-establishing the airport as a viable concern. It has to be targeted at every conceivable type of passenger, every possible airline and every conceivable destination. That means regular scheduled flights as well as holiday ones.

Nationally, there is supposed to be a shortage of airport space. Look at the fuss down in the south east where proponents of extra runways are claiming the lack of them are restricting growth for the UK. This town is sitting on a valuable asset. Ryanair, Jet2, whatever... let’s get them in and make it work.

I used to travel regularly between Blackpool and Stansted, and even Girona in northern Spain. This can be repeated if we, the town and private enterprise want it. The Pleasure Beach, the holiday industry, BAe, all manner of commerce and industry should be welcoming this. Why don’t we get a shuttle to City Airport in London instead of having to wait for a direct Virgin connection to Euston? Or what about a helicopter shuttle to Manchester? The potential is endless.

This town used to call itself “Britain’s Greatest Holiday Resort” – it’s about time it acted like one.

For goodness sake, let’s get positive!

Lance Fogg

via email

TRANSPORT

A ‘flat fee’ could be a transport solution

I think it was insulting for one of the readers recently on the letters page to generalise and describe OAPs on public transport as ‘freeloaders’ with the free travel scheme.

I do feel the free travel scheme introduced by the Department of Transport in April 2008 was too generous for local authorities and county councils to cope with. A reduced flat fee of say 50p per journey for senior citizens would have been a much more practical and viable way to subsidise public transport investment, protect and improve services. Bus operators locally and nationally have also been ‘short changed’ by the provision of the free travel scheme. Blackpool inherits a lot of other towns’ over 65s, and as a municipal owned transport operator (Blackpool Transport Services), effectively Blackpool council tax payers foot the bill.

A good public transport system should be for affordable and accessible for all. If Blackpool had a decent modern bus station that was disabled friendly, it would encourage more shoppers of all ages to use public transport. Blackpool town centre needs to attract greater year-round footfall and a wider demographic visiting from within at least the Fylde coast.

How many fair-minded senior citizens throughout the Fylde coast would like to see their children and grandchildren benefit from improved bus and tram services and would actually contribute to a reduced flat fare?

Blackpool has an impressive new fleet of buses, but with no bus station. The buses are parked up and scattered around various parts of the town centre like some haphazard game of crazy golf!

Stephen Pierre

via email

WILDLIFE

Peppermints can be a spider deterrent

It’s October, and usually I catch sight of the first indoor spider, when one runs across my living room. I usually try to catch it in a mug and put it outside.

My mother used to have arachnophobia (the fear of spiders) but back in the 1990s her idea was to put peppermints in each corner of the room and on the window sills – we never used to see any spiders.

Importantly if you see anything that is different, leave it alone and call an exterminator, if the newspapers are to be believed.

Jeffrey Bilham

Broadhurst Road

Blackpool

SPORT

Newspapers guilty of total hypocrisy

Corruption (but by who?) Why does a newspaper conduct this subterfuge of deceit? It is, of course, to sell newspapers, but for them to profess they are avenging angels for the good of the footballing profession is total hypocrisy.

They did not have to name Sam Allardyce, an investigation could have been conducted without all this publicity bringing the game into disrepute and depriving England of possibly a great British manager.

I would be interested to know if Telegraph readers support this skulduggery.

Kevin Gooder

Clinton Avenue

Blackpool