Letters to the Editor

Ilkleyparking problems

SIR, - Last week's Gazette reported another proposed meeting to debate the ongoing issue of car parking in the town.

Hitherto, the discussions seem to have revolved around how limited is the existing parking space and how this can be shared between the needs of local residents and the needs of those who wish to park their cars for the day whilst they work in Ilkley or travel on to Leeds or Bradford.

Earlier this year an idea was floated in your columns by a Mr John Parkes. His proposal had merit in making more space available in the centre of the town through the simple stratagem of re-locating the railway station platform and ticket office to the east and closer to Tesco's and thereby releasing land for an integrated traffic terminal with provision for car parking, offices and other facilities including a cinema. To Mr Parkes' wish list we could also add provision for a new health club to replace the loss of the popular Bodies Gym.

It is a fact that there is an acute shortage of land in the centre of Ilkley. The plans to date concentrate on how to carve the cake. Mr Parkes has suggested making a bigger cake by converting an existing asset, namely the railway station, into a development site that would maintain the needs of the travelling public and provide space for what could become a major development project with scope to attract inward investment and provide a range of other facilities to meet the town's growing needs.

There would also be increased job opportunities and additional rates revenue for the town's coffers. This must in today's climate be worthy of serious consideration.

I congratulate Mr Parkes for his innovative thinking and I hope our civic representatives will give this serious consideration in consultation with Railtrack and the various unelected bodies and associations who have Ilkley's best interests at heart.

Funding and delivery of a project will take many years. Now would be a god time to start.

Philip Chinque

18 Parish Ghyll Drive,

Ilkley.

Hedgehogs

SIR, - The mild weather this autumn was all well and good for us but it was very confusing for hedgehogs! Their instincts tell them to prepare for hibernation when it starts to get cold, but if it stays mild they think they have time to produce a second litter.

They, of course, don't have time, and these little ones that we call Autumn Orphans, inevitably struggle to survive growing up in such harsh conditions.

This year we have received many calls from people who have found small hedgehogs in difficulty that are frequently hypothermic.

To survive hibernation a hedgehog has to be an absolute minimum of 450gms at this time of the year. Any less and they need help. Classic signs of hypothermia in hedgehogs are staggering (as if drunk) and lying out in the daytime.

These small or hypothermic hedgehogs need to be taken indoors and placed on a well-wrapped hot water bottle in a high-sided box. An old towel or T-shirt should be placed over the animal and white meat flavour pet food offered along with a dish of water.

A call to the British Hedgehog Preservation Society on 01584 890 801 will provide further advice or help to locate your nearest hedgehog rehabilitation centre.

FAY VASS

Chief Executive

British Hedgehog

Preservation Society,

Hedgehog House,

Dhustone,

Ludlow.

Hunt hunters

SIR, - So the hunting season is upon us again and the Countryside Alliance's new figurehead, Kate Hoey, MP for Vauxhall, is assuring us that hunting smells the same and looks the same.

Hunts are claiming that more supporters are out in the field. This is all fine, as long as what the hunts are doing is within the law. The League never wanted to stop people enjoying a great ride in the countryside and a social stirrup cup of two.

For us it is clearly an animal welfare issue and we fought an 80-year campaign to reduce animal suffering in the misguided name of sport. Our intelligence shows that the majority of hunts are keeping within the law, but a significant minority are criminalising themselves by continuing to hunt wild mammals with dogs.

A popular way of breaching the Hunting Act, is to take a token bird of prey out and claim that the packs were flushing a fox to the bird. This exemption was made for falconry, and if, as some hunts admit, the bird is never released, then it is simply not falconry.

To all those in the countryside or visiting the countryside, who abhor animal cruelty, we say, keep an eye out for illegal hunting. The police will enforce this law, as any other, and we are confident that there will be prosecutions before long.

If the hunters freely choose to criminalise themselves, they will realise that they must face the consequences.

John Cooper

Chairman,

League Against Cruel

Sports Ltd,

83-87 Union Street,

London.

Confused

SIR, - I find the new speed check gizmos on Bolling Road, Ilkley, quite fascinating.

According to my speedometer, I was doing 27 miles per hour, but the recently erected device told me I was doing only 25.Does this mean I can now drive around reckoning that my speedometer is under reading by almost ten per cent, and thus travel that little bit faster?

HARRY HALL

New Manor,

Gill Bank Road,

Middleton,

Ilkley.

Distracted

SIR, - May I apologise to the cyclist who I only narrowly avoided whilst driving down Bolling Road in Ilkley.

I am sure the individual will appreciate that the new speed detection device distracted me as it informed me I was progressing at some 24 miles per hour within the 30 miles per hour zone.

DOROTHY ST CLAIRE

Hebers Well,

Clarence Drive,

Menston.

CSV thanks

SIR, - I would like to thank the hard work of all the volunteers who made Disability Month for the Year of the Volunteer a success.

Throughout September disabled volunteers demonstrated the variety of ways they help in the community, from giving advice on disability rights to escorting visitors around National Trust properties, volunteering is a great way for disabled people to improve their self confidence while developing skills for the workplace.

It is equally essential to recognise the people who volunteer with charities like CSV, Mencap and Scope to support disabled people to lead full and active lives.

Sue Gwaspari

CSV Director,

237 Pentonville Road,

London.