Letters to the Editor

'has put Chevin at risk'

SIR, - I wish to bring to Otley's attention the plight of our Ranger service on Otley Chevin - a service under threat in the Leeds City Council 'review' of the Leeds Ranger Service.

For more than ten years I have been part of a group of volunteers working on the Chevin at weekends. We work under the close supervision of one of two full-time Rangers doing such jobs as clearing streams, repairing footpaths and fences, and planting trees.

This has all now stopped. The 'review' has resulted in the Ranger service being withdrawn at weekends as the council endeavours to make savings.

Without the expertise of the Rangers we can no longer usefully or safely offer our time. Indeed, what Leeds City Council saves in enhanced wages it loses many times over in the loss of time and effort and goodwill of this group.

I am very concerned that the council review of the ranger service will result in a further reduction in the cover the Chevin receives and that policy makers in the council do not understand the significance of the Chevin as a tourist spot and how crucial the Chevin is to the identity of Otley.

I feel we need a say in any future plans for the management of the Chevin and this means that events and activities are promoted at weekends by Rangers who have local knowledge and love for this park.

Please make your views known by writing to the Leeds City Council Director of Learning and Leisure.

Paul Roberts

East View Terrace,

Otley.

Snarl-up

SIR, - I travel along the A65 through Ilkley every day to go to work in Skipton.

Since the introduction of the traffic lights at the bottom of Victoria Avenue my journey time can be increased by up to half-an-hour.

On May 24 returning from Skipton on the X84 bus, it took 20 minutes to get from the Addingham turn-off on the bypass through the centre of Ilkley. It meant my bus, due to leave Ilkley Bus Station at 6.15pm, did not in fact reach it until 6.35pm.

The problem, as far as I can see it, is caused when vehicles try to turn right up into Victoria Avenue. Could something not be done to prevent this happening because, sadly, people do not seem willing to allow them the space in which to make the manouevre?

Ilkley is a very attractive town, but if people spend almost 30 minutes trying to get into it, I can see many of them simply deciding to drive right on through rather than risk adding another 30 minutes at the other end of their journey trying to leave.

Mrs Louise Long

1 Walkergate,

Otley.

Wrong target

SIR, - Simon Chavasse does me a disservice in claiming that I believe that children should be stopped from feeding the birds at Golden Acre Park.

He may be aiming at the fox but in fact he is shooting the messenger. I reported simply what the city council's experts said at the recent public meeting where the five-year plan for Golden Acre was unveiled.

I actually inquired at the time how they would deal with the issue of discouraging members of the public from feeding the birds, given that this was a major attraction for many youngsters. I was assured they could handle it though it is not clear how they would go about it.

One thing that is clear is that the environmental experts consider that Golden Acre is suffering from too many birds which causes excessive pollution. If Mr Chavasse has a ready solution to this problem I will be pleased to put him in touch with those responsible for Golden Acre. In the meantime, armed with grain rather than bread, I am off to feed the ducks .

Coun Clive Fox

99 Breary Lane East,

Bramhope.

Pal's search

SIR, - I hope that through your newspaper I will be able to obtain information of an ex-army pal.

His name is Bill Williams, and his last known address was in Bradford. He was stationed at the 5th Infantry Brigade LADREME in Iserlohn, Germany, around 1958 to 1960. Any information would be appreciated.

M Broadhurst ('Brummie')

5 Verwood Close,

Willenhall,

West Midlands,

WV 13 3QQ.

Telephone (01902) 605757.

Reform call

SIR, - Just weeks after taking power with only 22 per cent of the electorate's votes, Blair is quickly dismantling the last vestiges of democracy and his real agenda is appearing - the one he didn't want the electorate to see before the election.

He said he has 'listened and learned'. He has learned to be more cunning.

Already he has had secret talks with Bush over Iran and Syria. He has appointed unelected cronies to the cabinet. He has installed enough cronies in the House of Lords for an un-elected majority.

He is preparing the way for the expansion of nuclear power and weapons. He is laying the foundations for privatising pensions and the NHS. None of these were mentioned before the election. In true Blair style he won by fraud.

The £3 billion of taxpayers money pumped into the private health industry is a forerunner of things to come.

Once this principle is established it is but a short step for future Conservative Governments to turn this into an American style health system where treatment is only available on production of an insurance card.

This is a step Labour is working on in various guises as identity cards.

Under Blair, democracy is crumbling and action is needed before it is too late. This will never come from the existing system, which resists change.

Leaders and policies are determined not by the electorate but secret organisations like the Builderburg Group. MP's are but puppets whose strings are pulled by others.

If there are organisations for democratic and political reform can we hear from you. Only the public can create democracy. Politicians won't do it, the Establishment has too much to lose.

Malcolm Naylor

21 Grange View,

Otley.

Cold blast

SIR, - If you want to know what the weather is going to be like in Otley, or the Leeds area in general or, in fact, Yorkshire, no make that the North of England then whatever you do don't bother watching the new BBC weather forecasts.

They hardly ever did get it right before, but now you can't say that they haven't (got it right) because neither you nor they have a clue what the hell is going on and it's a complete shambolic mess.

The City of Leeds is an arid desert between Newcastle and Norwich with rain showers, fluffy clouds and flying pigs pushing their way in from any and no direction in particular.

Some of the graphics might look pretty, maybe we'll all get used to it, but after watching a forecast you have absoloutely no idea what's going on and maybe that's the masterplan after all.

Make it up as you go along, keep your fingers crossed and hope no-one notices you're talking complete and utter garbage.

Bring back Francis Wilson from Sky. At least he's worth listening to.

Dan Cooney

Alicante,

Spain.

Human rights

SIR, - This week Amnesty International released its annual report, a global overview of the state of the world's human rights covering 149 countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.

The findings are far from encouraging. Sixty years after the UN was founded, its promise of human rights has been betrayed by governments around the world - both through their individual actions and the collective failure of the international community to tackle crises like that in Darfur, Sudan.

Governments have failed to respond to the increasingly horrific acts or armed groups with measures that respect human rights. Instead, we have seen continued detention without trial and attempts by the US and others to justify torture, setting a miserable example for other states to follow.

Governments, including our own, must be pushed to keep respect for human rights at the heart of their policies. Individuals can make a difference.

We hope that people in Ilkley will join Amnesty International in pressing for change, so that 2005's human rights legacy is a more positive one.

Lynda East

Amnesty International

Wharfedale Group.