Nuisances operate outside office hours

Skipton police no longer come out when called for nuisance unless it involves shouting and swearing in the street, if the noise is coming from a neighbouring house and is affecting you inside your home they will no longer attend.

You are advised by the police that you need to contact the environmental health department, which is not possible after 5pm on a Friday until 9am on a Monday, but this is very unhelpful when I suspect 95 per cent of noise will be between these time.

Therefore, you have to wait till Monday morning before reporting it. Anyone reading this who has been in a similar situation would agree that by Monday morning you have had to do something yourself, either playing them at their own game which then leads to police intervention, or by physical violence which then leads to the innocent party being arrested.

This is absolutely ludicrous and what is the world coming to when the public have to drop into a severe state of depression followed by getting into trouble themselves because they just can't cope with the nuisance any longer.

This particular situation involves five households but one of which causes the most nuisance as they all congregate at one property.

Even after months of filling out nuisance diary forms, nothing gets done and therefore the problem grows worse.

Something needs to change, why on earth can't the police attend? If this is the case residents need a number they can ring for the environmental health so they can attend after 5pm on Friday's and all weekend. This is a very serious issue that needs addressing urgently.

Name and address supplied

SIR - I have been following with interest some of the comments published in the Craven Herald both as articles and readers' letters about Linton Camp School.

In one comment the children were described as misfits. May I relate my experience of the school, as I was a pupil there from 1946 until 1949.

There was a good reason for me being there. My father had died shortly after the war and being a member of a family of four, I was sent to Linton to help my mother recover from her loss, I was later joined by my younger brother.

I may possibly be termed a "misfit" but I was there.

During my first winter we were snowed in from January until mid March 1947.

The school used to receive silent movies from Bradford and they were shown each week in the School hall. On this particular winter we had to watch the same film week after week.

I remember it to this day - it was called Charlie and The

Decorators, a Charlie Chaplin film. I also remember the cheer when we received a new film.

In our other spare time we would go for walks these included Grassington, where the local children used to lie in wait for us coming up the path from the Falls and shout and call us names.

I have since spent many a happy hour with my family going over those walks along Linton Church and stepping stones and along the riverbank and up to Thorpe village

I can remember clearly the teachers most of them by name and what they taught. The headmaster was Mr Sternwhite, who was possibly the fairest teacher I had ever met. He was kind and understanding. Mr Newbould, the deputy, had a beautiful baritone voice and would sing to the children The Yeomen of England and many other songs.

In one comment it was mentioned that the children were split into family groups, I was in Mr Steel's family group. Mr Steel taught woodwork and also played rugby for Bingley. As children we followed his playing career in the Telegraph and Argus.

Mr Routlege who left and went to Palestine and was killed in action, used to take us boys fishing in the River Wharfe.

Later Mr England arrived after being demobbed from the army. He taught us English and told us stories about life at the front line he was also a very good cricket coach and many boys benefited from his coaching.

I could list many more teachers but they all had one thing in common they were kind and understanding people who knew what hardships some of the children had been through.

On leaving Linton I returned to Bradford for my final year at school. I returned back many times and was always made welcome.

After I left the army I lived in Bradford and eventually came to live in Skipton.

I now live in Embsay and still have many fond memories of Linton Camp School.

David Eager

Millholme Rise, Embsay.

SIR - Could I please make an appeal through your pages to those motorists who, every school day between 7.30am and 8.25am come through Rathmell village.

As autumn approaches and the mornings become darker, villagers walking to the Reading Room to get their papers run the gauntlet of manic motorists belting through the village at totally inappropriate speeds and having no thought for the pedestrian.

I realise that this is a boring subject and frequently in the news, but it isn't in the least boring being plastered against a wall as two vehicles try to pass each other in the dark and the pouring rain.

In their haste they may not be aware that the road is narrow and there are no footpaths. Also there are no streetlights and when it is raining which makes for a very dangerous situation.

Most of these drivers are young and presumably taking their children to school and do not react kindly to gestures to slow down. Could I please ask them to imagine how they would feel if they killed someone, is it really worth it for the sake of a few seconds? Please slow down. Thank you

Shirley Wolfenden,

Rathmell.

SIR - May I refer to the informative article about missed doctors and hospital appointments by Louise Long in your issue of September 2.

While I fully appreciate the cost and inconvenience to our Health Service of missed appointments, I wonder if those who run the service ever give any thought to the cost and waste of time suffered by those who attended for appointments and are kept waiting for an unacceptable length of time because "he is running late".

On Thursday last my wife attended Skipton General for an appointment scheduled for 2.25pm. We arrived at 2.05pm, in plenty of time, only to be told: "He is running 45 minutes late". Finally at 3.55pm she was seen, the result: a complete waste of an afternoon.

When hospital staff are running this late why can't they telephone people who are local in order that they can usefully occupy time elsewhere, it is, after all, no more than common courtesy!

I spent 14 years working for the Health Service in a relatively senior capacity so I do know the problems they face, many of them are unfortunately of their own making. Something about people who live in glass houses springs to mind!

Harry Ferris,

Gladstone Street, Skipton.

SIR - It is unfortunate that Gerry Allsopp, in his restaurant critique of The Plough Inn at Wigglesworth (Craven Herald September 2), failed on almost all counts to carry out the proper role of a reviewer. That is to inform the reader of the ambience and atmosphere, the general appearance of the premises, the attitude and ability of the staff, the type of food available and the quality, taste and style of the food

Two of the five columns were taken up by his reminiscences of at least five years ago, when The Plough was under different ownership, and therefore nothing to do with the customer experience we offer.

He then comments, "the dcor looked a little tired". In five years we have: painted the frontage and replaced windows, put up new signs and lighting, landscaped the front with raised flower beds, have new tables and chairs for outside dining, put up hanging baskets and large plant pots filled with glorious flowers, refurbished three rooms with new drapes, table linen, lights, cushions and wall panelling, refurbished the bar and the bar area, refurbished all the bedrooms and the conservatory restaurant, which is spectacular with its new wooden flooring and purple and lilac dcor.

To complete the massive refurbishment the outside of the conservatory is being renovated and was being done at the time of his visit - hence some paint marks.

He made no mention of our locally sourced food, including first class organic lamb and beef and rare breed pork - all within two miles of us - nor of the extensive menu choices available from bar and a la carte menus and weekday value lunch menus.

We know from comments made by our discerning, unbiased customers that our food is first class, delicious, well presented and varied enough to suit all tastes, served by smiling, efficient and courteous staff.

What a pity that Mr Allsopp, as a restaurant critic, doesn't understand what potential customers want to read about when he does a review. He wasted a valuable opportunity to give them this information by harping on about something long before our time. Let us assure anyone coming to us that they will be very pleased with all we have to offer.

Sue & Steve Amphlett

The Plough, Wigglesworth

SIR - May I through your letters page, on behalf of the players of Settle Cricket Club, thank all the people of North Craven and beyond who have supported the team not just this year but over the last few seasons.

Obviously the success which the current crop of players are experiencing certainly does not come without hard work and application of talent and this they have shown in abundance, however the importance of the huge support from the sidelines cannot be underestimated and certainly is a major factor in our historic double success.

On several occasions over the last two years we have played in front of a full house which generates its own unique atmosphere and becomes a motivational tool in its own right.

When the team has stared defeat in the face, the vocal support and encouragement has lifted flagging spirits and made players realise that their performance is not a personal crusade but one which reflects on the whole club and the town. In effect this team has performed for the town and has been determined to win the Ribblesdale League title not for themselves necessarily but for the people who have come down to the Marshfield and urged the team to success and for those people who "kept with the club" in the dark times.

It is 100 years to the season that the club won its second title, archive reports talk of the club being well supported and the ground "packed". I am pleased to say that some things do not change over time!

To all supporters, club members, ladies, juniors and sponsors a huge thank you for your support.

Andrew Davidson

Captain, Settle CC

SIR - After reading a report of the findings of a national survey which shows that "younger folk say youth ends at 49" and "those aged 70 and over are doddery but dear ... nice but no use", your well-deserved article on Brian Robertshaw (Craven Herald Sep 9) was, for me, quite timely.

While others must say whether I am "nice" or "dear" I cannot think that I am the only person over or under 70 to sometime think of myself as being "doddery" and "no use".

However, I can say how relieved I am that on Sunday August 14 the under 49-year-old Skipton paramedics, staff on Airedale Hospital Coronary Care Unit together with the consultant and doctors who gave me the benefit of their cheerful, confident and efficient professionalism and skills all saw me only as another human being on a standing with themselves who needed the help they could give.

No one could have had more immediate attention or better care than I received (and not for the first time), and I hope that your feature article serves as a reminder to others as it has done to me, of the tremendous work done in all our medical, caring and public services.

For the largest part these are staffed by people who give constantly of their best effort, and do what they can to help others in need and without qualification, despite limited resources and increased expectations where falling victim to compensation culture and public censure is always a possibility.

If I thought otherwise, I would begin to believe that in his "predictions" the only mistake made by George Orwell, was in the date - 1984. I might then go to bed and switch out the light after telling others, both over and under 49, to do the same!

Sam Doubtfire

Station Road, Threshfield.

SIR - If I was still working as a journalist, British Telecom could have cost me hundreds of pounds by now. Being long retired, I'm lucky: only about £30 out of pocket.

On Wednesday morning, August 31, some engineers (or whatever) finished tinkering with the junction box just across Skipton Road, Gargrave, from where I now live.

When they left my phone was dead. So were two others nearby that I know of. It was reported. It was reported again on the Friday. It was reported again on Monday to a girl who said it had already been mended.

At least a man turned up about an hour later. He took one look and said "needs a platform".

It is now Tuesday, September 6. I ring BT faults again and there's another cheerful girl who says "We'll have it put right by Saturday."

I suspect these company managers want us to lose our tempers with these poor girls so we'll feel really rotten about it later and let them off the hook. I ask her for an address to write to with a formal complaint.

This she gives me. Out of old habit I check the phone book. After all, if you're asked where a complaint can be lodged against you, wouldn't you be tempted to give the BT equivalent of the dead letter office? And it is different! Her address is in Durham. The book says it's Gateshead. So I ring BT to see if the book is out of date. Twenty minutes of "connect you with an adviser when one is free" the mobile's own female zombie voice interrupts and demands a "top up" like it was some sort of sex line.

BT will say it did its best transferring our incoming landline calls to my wife's mobile. I think we did our best being patient for a full week especially as we've relied on BT and got a mobile only for my wife to keep in the car for an emergency. Like the car it was checked and serviced regularly but that was all. We didn't know there was no 0800 "freephone" for those 20 minute calls to a BT zombie.

I shall, however, today go to a shop in Skipton High Street, which was very helpful at no cost to my wife when she got in a tangle over some new-fangled gadget. I'm sure they can find for me, an equally non-tech old timer, a mobile phone on which you just do calls and don't expect it to text, photograph or take the dog for a walk.

There's no great loss to BT - a few hundred pounds a year for my calls. But I'd like to think that others will read this letter and wonder whether there's not something more efficient out there that doesn't still have inside it the bones of the old nationalised industry that are now surfacing elsewhere in Brown (forget Blair) World.

Michael Green,

Skipton Road, Gargrave.

SIR - Two years ago the Government decided that there should be a better quality youth service delivery throughout the country. In fact an increase in spending of around 100 per cent was announced.

Plus a few weeks ago the Government produced a green paper, one of whose recommendations was, yet again, to deliver a high standard of accredited youth work.

Having been told all of this we now see North Yorkshire Community Education making huge cuts in budgets throughout Craven. The result of this is going to be cuts in service in our area.

Yet nobody seems to be able to answer the question what's happened to all this extra money that the Government supposedly made available.

It certainly isn't being spent at grass roots where it should be. In some cases village youth provision doesn't exist at all. The next time you see youths being condemned for hanging about bored, maybe causing trouble, being loud etc, perhaps this could be the reason.

I wonder what our MP, county councillors or even local councillors think about this or even if they know what's happened to all the extra money?

Gordon Fothergill,

Local Youth Worker,

Brackenley Crescent, Embsay

SIR - I was touched by Mr Pedley's kind letter defending the Yorkshire Dales National Park's planning committee, but I can assure him he would not feel like that if he were a hard working parish chairman or clerk or a rate payer living in Langcliffe.

I myself, as a private person, have written countless letters about the conversion of the chapel and Sunday school, all of which have been ignored so I know that everything Mrs Bell says is true.

Thank heavens for the Audit Commission and the Craven Herald, Mr Fenten and Mrs Bell.

Elizabeth Glover,

Cock House, Langcliffe.

SIR - Perhaps the most significant problem facing Craven District Council is a widespread lack of trust amongst the residents of Skipton and Craven.

The seeds of this were surely sown by the politically engineered break-up of the original 12 member Skipton Renaissance Management team. Much has been written about the appalling way the six public members were treated and there's nothing to be gained by repeating it but the seemingly undemocratic and cavalier sacking of them all (including the chairman) left a bitter taste in the mouths of many.

Fast forward first to the consultation at The Lock, Stock and Barrel. The public was asked for its opinion on a number of proposals for the redevelopment of Skipton. The way this exercise was presented and managed did the council little credit and sowed the seeds of doubt further.

Proof of this was the formation of "The Voice of Skipton", a group of concerned citizens that no longer believed that C.D.C. was behaving in a transparent and honest fashion and thus felt obliged to run its own unofficial questionnaire at the same time.

Following further Grimley proposals in July the Council ran its own consultation exercise in the Town Hall. The results of this appear to give a number of useful pointers to the feelings of some Skipton residents, district tax payers and visitors from outside. Nevertheless a wide and growing sense of distrust led a number of individuals and organisations to question the council's motives and the way the consultation was run.

A belief that the council was running its own hidden agenda was perhaps what prompted the Civic Society to go to the trouble and expense of conducting a referendum but we can be fairly sure that Coun Paul English's assurance to the society chairman that it was an "all or nothing" deal must have played its part. The subsequent publication of this assurance in the Craven Herald only added to the growing air of disquiet.

Fast forward finally to last Thursday's Renaissance evening in the Town Hall where I was struck by a widespread lack of faith in the council - both members and officers.

Unfortunately, far from recognising and trying to ameliorate this, Coun English, who must be held largely if not wholly responsible for the collapse of the first renaissance team, totally misjudged the mood of the meeting and did his best to exacerbate public scepticism. He seems to be deluding himself that only he can lead Skipton into the promised land.

The notion that CDC would slavishly agree to a long list of proposals from an outside consultant without question, change or amendment is simply laughable. But in the general mood of disbelief nobody stopped to consider that. Coun English has preached this "all or nothing" mantra to all who cared to listen and is still preaching such nonsense. It's no wonder the public doesn't fully trust council members - even those of us trying hard to present a very different view.

I've spoken to and continue to do so to a cross section of people who live and work in and around Skipton and, quite understandably, their views differ widely. What is becoming clear is a sense that while some changes may be of benefit, any development should follow a more measured step by step approach.

Evolution rather than dramatic change seems to reflect the wider feeling and I'm sure this is right. Certainly "all or nothing" could never be an option.

Coun Chris Knowles-Fitton,

Knowles Lodge, Appletreewick.

SIR - I read with disquiet the letter from John Goodfellow, for, in spite of his important position within the community, he does not appear to appreciate what is happening in Skipton.

I would have expected him to have enquired more closely into the reasons why our Civic Society commissioned the ballot by Electoral Reform Services before he put pen to paper.

Judith Atkinson, a representative of Grimleys, the Council's consultants, is minuted as saying last September that the total package approach would be far more appealing to potential partners and help to guarantee a high quality development.

Paul English, the portfolio holder for Craven Distict Council's economic prosperity programme, is minuted as saying, on June 27 2005, that it was vital that the proposal had to be seen as a package and that CDC was not able to cherry-pick just the bits it liked. The public had to look at the big picture - not just the bit that might affect them individually.

The poll is costing the society dear but our motive is purely to ensure that the future of Skipton is decided by a majority of residents. We have no vested interest as such in the outcome, unlike Skipton Building Society and some other parties.

It is undemocratic of Mr. Goodfellow to deny the residents of Skipton the opportunity of saying whether they in fact support or disagree with the big picture.

John Moody,

Chairman, Skipton-in-Craven Civic Society

SIR - I attended the Renaissance meeting in the Town Hall last Thursday. The standard of debate was high and congratulations to Mr Dawson for handling it so well.

I left still undecided as to whether or not the plans were a good thing or a bad thing.

I had parked in the town hall car park. As I left around 30 youths were gathered around the public toilets. Some were smoking, more were drinking, a lot more were using foul language.

Elsewhere two "boy racers" were screeching round the car park.

Three large lorries followed each other to join the dozen or so already there parked up for the night. As we left one youth was urinating up against the bowling club wall.

Then it struck me. This was the "open space" so precious to Skipton. My mind was made up. The sooner that land is developed from a barren wasteland, a home to underage drinkers, Formula One hopefuls and an overnight layover for lorry drivers and turned into homes and shops the better.

I put my cross against yes in the civic society vote.

S Dobson,

Keighley Road, Skipton.

SIR - Your correspondent Mr Goodfellow thinks that a referendum in which it is only possible to ask respondents to state whether they are in favour of or opposed to a single proposition, is of no value.

I disagree. The deputy leader of Craven District Council has himself said that the council's proposals for the development of Skipton as they have recently been shown to the public must be seen as a package and the inhabitants of Skipton are exceedingly fortunate to have the question of whether or not this is a package they want put to them honestly, impartially and competently by the Electoral Reform Society in this referendum.

If Mr Goodfellow sees no point in answering the question that is a matter for him but surely he doesn't need to try to dissuade others from thinking it out for themselves.

Gavin Martin,

Church Croft, Gargrave.

SIR - I am writing about the Greenacres-Regent Traffic Calming Scheme. Many thanks to Coun Robert Heseltine for advising us, as promised, the date of the council meeting to discuss this matter. But why hold the meeting at Grassington?

Surely Skipton should be the place to hold such a meeting? The residents of Grassington can hardly be expected to be interested in the matter.

Is it, perhaps, that they don't want us (the council tax payers who vote them into office and expect them to look after our interests) to attend this meeting and express (yet again) our disapproval?

We, the residents of the estate, will have to pay the car parking charges at Grassington, whilst they, the councillors, will park free of charge and collect their richly deserved (sic) expenses.

This really is not a very good example of North Yorkshire County Council's avowed intent to be in touch with the people.

David Kirkham,

Greenacres, Skipton

Editor's note: We have had a number of similar comments. In fact the venue and date of meetings are fixed long in advance. Matters which crop up for discussion are added to the agenda of the next available meeting, which in this case was Grassington.

SIR - I wonder how many readers dislike the idea of hundreds of trees per week being turned into unwanted advertising material? How many relish the fact that their letterbox is now directly hooked up to the marketing industry, which pays the Royal Mail to keep up the deluge of unaddressed rubbish alongside our real post? They profited by £200 million last year- but at what expense on a planet with dwindling resources?

My answer to this. I let all the unaddressed stuff accumulate, and when I have a letter to post I take the whole lot and let the Royal Mail sort it out. Until they realise that when something is so obviously wrong it's time to stop doing it. Even if it makes a 'profit', count the cost.

Kerry Burns,

Highfield Terrace, Low Bentham.

SIR - May I thank through your pages the person who handed in my wallet left at Morrison's trolley park on 12 September.

Mrs JKCheney,

Regent Road, Skipton.