Letters - Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Correct me if I’m wrong but I was brought up to accept vaccinations were administered to protect us from diseases like, polio, whooping cough, rubella, TB and scarlet fever.

So why do NHS workers refuse to protect themselves and those they care for, work colleagues and families? (‘We should never have faced sack’, The Gazette, February 7).

I don’t care that the government warned them they would face dismissal if they refused the Covid vaccine. Do these health workers know that there is a resurgence of diseases like measles and polio? Measles can be eliminated with antibiotics but we wonder that this ‘right to choose’ is a threat to their children and causing a resurgence of some serious and life threatening diseases.

Had we refused other vaccines to knock aforementioned diseases on the head, with some administered in schools, I can’t imagine the consequences.

Our right to choose wasn’t an option, no-one thought this way because my grandparents wanted to protect their children (my parents) and they wanted to protect me and my siblings!

Working in care, it’s part of their job to take every precaution to protect themselves, those they care for, work colleagues and family!

Clifford Chambers

Blackpool

DEVELOPMENT

A small battle won

I have never written to a newspaper before, but after what has happened outside our house last week in Warton, I feel that I need to share.

On Wednesday morning we saw an ominous truck with traffic lights, cones and barriers draw up outside the housing development site opposite our house.

After a short time it became obvious that a big job was about to begin when another company turned up in their transit too.

Soon the familiar traffic lights were up and running and the men in florescent jackets and hard hats were wandering around both sides of the road making strange markings on paths, grass verge and road.

At this point, a neighbour asked what was happening, and was informed that they were going to widen the road to allow access into the new housing site and this would involve us losing half of the verge.

After alerting us to this shattering news, we demanded to see the plans for the work and indeed the verge was to be reduced, a tree was to come down and the bus stop and road were moving nearer to us.

The plans were apparently passed in July last year, but none of the local residents, parish councillors or indeed our Lancashire County Councillor knew of this.

There were no warning notices put up about impending works on the road, and the bus stop was still open even though buses couldn’t stop. Something was very wrong.

After phoning around the local planning officers, councillors and basically anyone we could to get the work stopped and checked, it was finally found out that the work on our side of the road did not have planning permission and, as a result, they have put a stop on the work on our side of the road for now.

Having fought so long against the ongoing urbanisation of Warton, it is a small battle won, but it does show that if the local residents hadn’t asked and pushed for this work to be checked, the work would have carried on; another tree would have gone and our verge would have been all but destroyed.

I am not naïve enough to think that they won’t be back to do what they originally planned… but at least we were a bit of a thorn in a developer’s side!

Ruth Fraser

Warton

VIRUS

Most of us stuck to the rules

“We all broke lockdown rules” states Lancashire County Councillor Charlie Edwards. I am sure most readers who saw the bold heading would have been as angry and horrified as I was.

Most of us law-abiding citizens did not break the Covid rules.

We watched the news and television presentations to keep updated and to be instructed.

It has been a nightmarish time for most people – missing out on funerals, having family and friends in our homes, going out for lunch, hugging friends, etc, etc.

This nightmare has brought out a lot of kindness.

People called friends on a weekly basis, to make sure they were okay, and checked on neighbours.

We quickly had to learn to be adaptable to change.

So, sorry Charlie, I do not wish to listen or watch your communication but do strongly feel that I need to express my displeasure.

You cannot persuade me to your school of thought.

Liz Scott

Lancashire

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