Skipton doomed to be commuter town

But it chose a watered down plan which gives the council its new offices and some housing but it fails to resolve the two major problems which remain and will get worse; those of new employment prospects and of car parking.

The Civic Society and its supporters would be content if Skipton remained a sleepy little backwater providing a "Shady Pines" paradise for middle-class people of more mature years.

The implications of their vociferous opposition to the schemes appear to be that the town should remain a town of small shops run by local shop keepers with limited provision for parking thus limiting the numbers of visitors to the town and therefore maximising the annoyance to local residents by visitors' on-street parking.

I am of the impression that the supporters of this option would rather not see any further larger chain businesses open outlets in the town.

Skipton is lucky to have two excellent grammar schools and a successful further education college.

A glance at the 2001 census figures for Craven district shows that there were significantly less people in the 19-25 age group living in the town. The population bands do not really recover until the 35 to 39 age group. This indicates that many young people move away to go into higher education and never come back to the town. Why? The reason is that there are few suitable employment prospects in the district and because that housing which does go on the market is either too expensive for those just starting on a career path or not of the "required quality" or right image for young professionals.

Many working people who live in Skipton use it as a dormitory town. Many work in Leeds or Bradford, in the Lancashire towns or further afield. Some people are only resident at the weekends and travel long distances for their work.

Long gone are the days when there were working mills and engineering plants in and around the town providing employment. Some employers have grown and found it impossible to develop or acquire adequate premises in the town and have moved elsewhere (eg Silentnight, Welcome Holidays).

What will happen if our biggest employer, Skipton Building Society, decides that it has outgrown its present premises - will they move to Leeds or elsewhere and create a massive hole in the local economy?

Skipton needs to sustain its present economy and be allowed controlled growth. It needs to be allowed to provide affordable houses so that the people can afford to make a start on the housing ladder. There needs to be adequate, sustainable, reasonably paid employment in the town and all the necessary services that go with it.

Traffic management needs to be addressed and there needs to be adequate parking to accommodate the working people of the local businesses, the local residents who go about their daily business and shopping in Skipton and the visitors to the town who sustain the tourist economy.

Multi-storey car parking is the most economical way on increasing car parking capacity without using acres of land that could otherwise be used for commercial and housing development. Multi-storey car parks do not have to look like pre-cast concrete monstrosities.

There are many multi-storey car parks in picturesque historic towns and cities throughout the United Kingdom that are not eyesores and which blend in well with their surroundings. Multi-storey car parks do not need to be above ground: they can be underground thus allowing development of the ground-level land.

People raised doubts about security in multi-storey car parks: most I have visited have security cameras monitored by security staff and combined with adequate policing, few have problems.

One thing is certain, people are unlikely to stop using cars especially in rural areas, and indeed national predictions forecast an increase in car ownership in the future.

Public road transport into and out of the town could hardly be described as "adequate".

North Yorkshire County Council is presently planning to cut back on many rural services and completely cut some out through lack of usage. This is hardly an encouragement for people to leave their vehicles at home.

Skipton needs more parking to accommodate today's and future demand. In any event, the revenue generated from parking is useful in keeping our council tax bills down.

The option chosen by Craven's councillors does not go far enough. It leaves many of the potential problems unaddressed and does little for the local economy.

At best it probably ensures that Skipton will develop as a commuter town for Leeds and Bradford and other places: thankfully our rail services are an asset to the town. Without further incentives for new employment and housing developments, it is unlikely to attract new life to the town and it will principally remain a locale for the more affluent, largely between the ages of 35 and upwards.

Maybe the council should have also approved the acquisition of the farmland surrounding Waltonwrays so as to extend our local cemetery.

John Manley,

Burnside Avenue, Skipton.

SIR - A waste of time, a waste of opportunity, and worst of all a continuing waste of Council taxpayers money - that is my verdict on last weeks timid "status quo"decision on the much trumpeted town centre proposals.

Whilst it may have been "a very good night for democracy" to quote the council leader who championed the more ambitious proposals, it was a very bad night for council taxpayers. Ninety thousand pounds to develop a prospectus just to go in effect, to market two parcels of land! Surely the wealth of commercial and legal expertise in the town working with senior council officers and overseen by members could have achieved the same result for far less expense.

Will, I wonder this be the end? At the very least the public is entitled to be told what the total final figure of council and general taxpayers money will be - perhaps there should be a public debate about that issue.

As for the outcome of the much-trumpeted Renaissance proposals history told us that this was always going to be the case of deja vu.

The Millfields scheme in Skipton started in the same way. The council launched a competition; it was won by a local company (not Skipton Properties) based on an excellent design prepared by a local architect, and what was the outcome? Two rows of houses - very good houses - and a doctors' surgery, a vital element in the town life. Everything else still on a plan in the bottom drawer!

As your perceptive leader observed, the car parking issue will not go away. Already the overspill from the totally inadequate station car park is snaking past Sandylands. How long will it be before the council's Overview and Scrutiny Committee finally stop looking at options and decisive action is taken?

For how long will the town have to put up with an out of date 20th century bus station? For a long time to come, if any other initiatives for its renewal are dismissed without consideration like the one I prepared. My proposal would have combined a new bus station with new council offices, a new police station, accommodation for North Yorkshire County Council plus 85 car parking spaces to add to the 115 existing ones, and all 200 spaces would have been secure and underground.

In December the council told me that it had been progressing proposals for the Bus Station for a long time and wish to see a solution expedited - perhaps they will publish their plans and timetable.

I hope that the council will offer a full response to the questions you posed in last week's leader - as I do not expect any to mine.

One final thought - many seem to want to defer progress until it can be seen how the Belle Vue Mills scheme turns out.

It is fortunate indeed that the original proposers of the fine range of listed buildings was not seeking planning permission today. Sadly the answer would have been only too predictable.

Brian Verity,

Managing Director

Skipton Properties, Cross Hills.

SIR - What is the matter with the MPs that we elect into the Houses of Parliament to run our country and the councillors we elect to look after our towns and cities?

Yet another police officer, 23-year-old Rachael Bown shot and seriously wounded in Nottingham on Monday night. Back in November PC Sharon Beshenivsky, 38, shot and murdered in Bradford, and what action do our Government take to curb gun crime? I'll tell you what, absolutely nothing!

If I was the leader of any of the opposition I'd say to the decent law abiding people of this country vote me in and I promise you that any person caught in possession of an unlicensed fire arm would get ten years and I would make sure they serve at least nine years and 365 days of that sentence. Anybody caught carrying a knife or any other dangerous weapon without reasonable explanation would get five years and they would also serve no less than four years 365 days.

I have no doubt whatsoever that I'd be choosing the wallpaper at Number 10 within a month!

But just changing tack slightly, before I become Leader of the Opposition I suppose I must tread the boards as a local councillor, which brings me to the debacle that took place in the Town Hall last week regarding Skipton's blueprint for the future?

Do any of these councillors ever try to go shopping in Skipton on a Saturday? Well obviously not because if they had they would realise that there isn't an available car parking space this side of Embsay Crag.

Now I know for a fact that a few years ago the top bod at Skipton Building Society approached the council with an offer to build a multi- storey car park on the site of the existing Town Hall car park, with one floor to be used throughout the week, solely for the employees of the Building Society. Unfortunately the council at the time, in its wisdom, said thanks, but no thanks. No surprise there then!

But thankfully the biggest employers in Skipton possess a full chamber of wisdom and they showed it by opening their private car park to paying customers at weekends, anyone who uses it knows it's only a short walk into town; it's a damn site cheaper than the council charges and the proceeds all go to charity. Without it the town would be grid locked.

But the council is not bothered they'll just bang our tax up to cover everything in 'option two', everything except what this town really needs and that's a multi-storey car park.

I also read and I quote "they voted in favour of a watered down scheme" but this I couldn't fail to notice includes building new council offices on the outskirts of town. Well I've got just the place for it ... Morecambe Bay!

Kirk Humphreys,

Hurrs Road, Skipton.

SIR - Voice of Skipton attended the Extraordinary Council Meeting on Tuesday night. The response from the public in the Hall was overwhelmingly against the original Grand Plan for Skipton.

Voice of Skipton has never spoken for or against this or any other plan, including the two new ones (massively downsized) and which mysteriously appeared from nowhere late last week. Our sole purpose during this last 18 months has been to try and ensure that the people of Skipton were given honest information and properly consulted throughout the whole of this Renaissance process.

Public opinion was a key part of the 'partnership' required by Yorkshire Forward to release substantial funding to Craven District Council. Shamefully, a small group of councillors politically engineered the silencing of the public by closing down the original Renaissance Team on which were six member of that public. A new Renaissance Team was then formed by the council on which there were no members of the public. This action created a huge sense of distrust and unease amongst many people, and was certainly the moment when the touch paper of protest was lit.

Thankfully, Skipton Civic Society stepped into this unhappy situation, had their own referendum and elicited a response which was deafening in its condemnation of the Grand Plan. Fortunately, a majority of councillors had been listening to their electorate, ignored flawed information given to them by council officers and made up their own minds which way to vote. We congratulate them.

Our battle has been won, but this determined group of people will not be closing down. Watch dogs never sleep.

Peter Rigby,

Lenner House, Beamsley.

SIR - What earthly reason does the council have for ploughing ahead with a £7 million new council building, when the existing Granville Street offices still have a five year lifespan and in all probability the council will disappear into the new unitary authority in the next two or three years?

Was the idea of the multi-storey car park given up on as a token appeasement in order for the council proceed with this unnecessary white elephant? Have the people of this town been duped?

Surely, this money would be better spent investing in regenerating the town hall even further.

It saddens me so much to see so many young people loitering around the town in the evenings, waiting simply until they are old enough to be served in the towns many pubs. There must be an alternative offered to people after dark in Skipton apart from drink.

A multimedia arts space in a revamped town hall, incorporating dance centre, music workshops, theatre space and library, busy every night of the week with societies and groups, would attract people of all ages into the town and bring all arts and music under one magnificent roof space. Think about the Grassington town hall development, and what a difference this has made to the festival there. Is there any harm in creating a similar development in Skipton, but on an even larger scale?

Now that we are back to the drawing board with regards to the car parking issue, can we look again please at the excellent suggestion put forward by the Skipton Chamber of Commerce and Sebastian Fattorini at the castle. Namely, to have a mini roundabout leading off the bypass to a dedicated coach and car parking area behind the railway station.

A park and ride could be set up for the elderly, and the canal towpath could be used as a green lung walk and cycleway from the station into the heart of the town.

The mini roundabout on the bypass would serve as a traffic calming measure to boot.

Mark Verity,

Raikes Road, Skipton.

SIR - Having attended the council meeting at the Town Hall on proposed development for Skipton, I came away totally disillusioned at the outcome. The only developments put forward are for the council's gain not for Skipton.

The council will gain new offices and more rates from all the properties to be built on Horse Close and Granville Street. Skipton will gain nothing except a makeover of our Town Hall.

When resident parking is introduced and the 750 on-street parkers (from the council's own survey) are forced to park in our 1,100 pay and display spaces, how on earth are our businesses going to survive?

Though staff will be able to park as they arrive first, customers will not. No customers = no staff = empty shops.

It is time that this council looked at Skipton from a business point of view. Whether we like it or not the transport of our time is the car. There is no alternative for Skipton.

We have no real rail line to Lancashire, and we probably have the worst bus station within 50 miles or more. If we have no parking Skipton will die.

The problem for me being born in Skipton, living in Skipton and owning a business in Skipton is I feel the council need new offices but I resent them for being funded in a way that will harm a town I am very proud of.

If our council members could see the light then Skipton will have a good bus station, a free flowing traffic system (this is possible) and ample parking for all the very nice people that pay for our livelihoods then Skipton will prosper. With greater visitor numbers the bigger stores may want to trade in our then thriving town.

So please, please, please, less of your no gain policies for Skipton and put the infrastructure there so Skipton can evolve as it has done in the past, but geared for the future.

Ian Clarke,

Pennine Cruisers,

Coach Street, Skipton.

SIR - You may wish to start a small collection of letters dedicated to documenting the heavy-handedness of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.

A while ago I was thinking about a planning application and figured in the interests of working in sympathetic partnership with the national park I would get a planning officer out for a kick around session on the proposed site.

Imagine my surprise a month later when, rather than get the officer's feedback on the merits and so forth, I get served an emergency Tree Protection Order from their solicitor with a summons to appear before some panel with heavy fines and jail time if I did anything in the meantime!

The lesson I've learnt, and share with anybody else in the YDNPA, is chop the trees down then ask their advice as they'll only try and defy anytime a resident or businessman does. They truly are the local bully. Any conversation appears to go along the line of "No. What was the question?"

Simon Maufe,

Beck Hall, Malham