Community rallies round for pool

Firstly we are planning to tile Settle Swimming Pool during the usual closedown period. The benefits of this are many including the fact that the annual close down for repairs will be shorter in future years. As well as the usual fund raising that accompanies projects like this, some of the staff and regular users swam continuously for 12 hours to raise funds. That is way beyond their job description and on behalf of everyone associated with the pool I would like to thank them very much.

Secondly, since the last fire and theft of the waste paper trailer, Settle Coal Company have been providing us with a skip as a temporary measure. They have also been emptying it several times a week and the paper mill have done their bit by not holding them up at their end. This has meant that the paper collection has continued almost as normal. Our thanks must go to them for stepping into the breach.

I hasten to add that the usual band of collectors have not had the summer off but have carried on their usual round of collecting.

Generous donations have meant that the new trailer should be with us soon and thanks to help from the High School, close circuit TV is being installed which should mean that if the unthinkable were to happen again we will have footage to help the Police.

All this shows the positive way in which the community can work together to help each other and I for one am proud to be part of it.

Helen Firth,

Chairman,

Settle Swimming Pool.

SIR - I have recently moved to Skipton and, in an effort to meet people and get fitter, started attending the 'aquaerobics' classes on a Tuesday and Thursday night. The attendance was brilliant at each class and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I and many others turned up as usual on Tuesday August 24 only to find it was cancelled. We were told we could have a swim. Good idea seeing as we had made the effort to go. One problem though - the pool was divided into lanes. Great if you can swim in the deep end, tough luck if you can't go out of your depth like myself (and many others). Or am I wrong and it is compulsory that if you live in Skipton you must be able to swim in the deep end? Home I went seeing as I didn't have my water wings with me. Never mind there was always Thursday night.

I thought I would be smart and ring up Thursday to check it was on. The person who answered the phone at the pool said yes it was on Tuesday and Thursday nights. I asked her to confirm it again only to be told no, sorry, it wasn't on. Sure glad I asked a second time. Obviously once is not enough and everything has to be asked twice. Does Fred Elliott live in Skipton?

Tuesday August 31 came, so off I toddled once again for the class. Guess what? It wasn't on and once again the pool was divided onto lanes. I expressed my dismay at not being able to go in as I can't go out of my depth, but sadly it fell on deaf cars.

What fool decides that the people who support the aquaerobics classes have the choice of either swimming lengths or going home? We haven't turned up for a swim in the first place. The classes are also cancelled on Thursday and I was advised to ring up before turning up next week.

Rumour goes that we could have had a teacher for the class if the powers that be had been prepared to put their fingers in their pockets and paid her what she wanted.

Sure seems a good way to keep a new pool going. In the short time I was there at least 15 people left and went home. At £3 per head it isn't cheap but worth it. Surely it would be worth making less profit for a few classes to keep the people who attend happy. Without them the class will close and I for one will be looking for a reliable alternative.

Margaret Darbyshire,

Marton Street, Skipton

SIR - I understand from items published in the Craven Herald that Craven District Council is embarking again on another round of consultations with so-called experts on the renaissance of Skipton.

The last attempt was supposed to be a wonderful partnership of experts and local councillors and I believe cost approaching £200,000.

All we, the public, get are excuses that the report wasn't worth the paper it was written on, so the consultants were sacked. Now new consultants have been appointed, but what assurances do the public have that the same won't happen? Have we got a signed document that no results means no pay, or are we going to finish up in the same situation as the new Scottish Parliament building - years late and ten times over budget?

I read in one report that the Granville Street offices were dilapidated and no longer suitable. Those offices were built and first occupied in March 1967 so are not yet 40 years old. If they are now dilapidated it is only because Craven Council has never, since they took over the public buildings and housing stock, had a proper maintenance plan and repair system. Hence we had to build a new swimming baths and the town hall is dropping in bits. They just cannot seem to get anything right.

No-one has yet told us where the money for all these grand schemes will come from. We are talking of an enormous amount of money which will be on top of what the council already demands and this is always rising, so let's have some unity in these important decisions otherwise we can all file for bankruptcy.

S Phillips,

Keighley Road, Skipton.

SIR - Critical remarks have been levelled at Skipton Civic Society regarding the height of the new houses on Canal Street, the implication being that the society had somehow been remiss on the matter.

The fact is that the society registered an objection to the houses. In March 2003 our plans committee looked at the application. We sent the following representation: "Although underground parking is a commendable concept, it results in the Canal Street elevation being the best part of four storeys high. We object to this in the context of the lesser scale of most of the domestic architecture which lends charm to this much-visited area."

Craven District Council's planning committee considered the application on April 7 2003. With the agenda, council members receive the "yellow pages" which list the applications to be considered, together with background information and officers' recommendations.

As a rule Civic Society comments appear on the yellow pages. On this occasion they did not appear, though they may have been reported to the meeting. Two representations were included.

One, from Margaret Carr, sounded a warning note. She said that the three storey buildings "would be completely out of character and unsympathetic to the other smaller houses in Canal Street and Bay Horse Yard". Mrs Carr is a former district councillor and served on the planning committee.

Throughout the officers' report the houses are referred to as three storey. The following are quotations from the report: "The three storey element which forms the frontage to Canal Street is detailed and traditionally proportioned...and would make a positive contribution to this important piece of townscape....It is considered that...the proposed design for seven dwellings represents an attractive and imaginative development which will enhance the character and appearance of the conservation area."

Not surprisingly the committee's decision was to approve the scheme.

The planning officers' view is that the development is in keeping with traditional canalside architecture which consists mostly of large scale buildings. This is a valid point.

On the other hand, the society feels that the scale of the development should have been dictated by that of the domestic dwellings in the vicinity - also a valid view.

The completed scheme may establish who is right, but as judgements of the visual are very subjective, I suspect that opinion will continue to be divided.

Gwynne Walters,

Secretary,

Skipton Civic Society.

SIR - We recently attended the meeting at Earby Albion Hall, regarding housing development in Earby, having a particular interest in the Bawhead Road site.

As the field is owned by Pendle Council, it seems to us that this decision should not be within the council's remit, as the council will be acting as judge and jury, and it is obvious what the decision will be. We are also of the opinion that if this land was in private hands it would not get permission.

Several other points were continually being raised during the meeting, as follows:

1 Traffic. It will obviously depend on the type of houses to be built on this site; there may be the odd owner who does not have a car (doubtful) but there will be at least one per house and there will probably be several homes with teenage children who also have cars, possibly totalling three or even four cars per house, giving a grand total of at least 50 or 60.

This, together with the fact that this land was allocated to building 45 years ago, when the number of people owning cars was probably no more than a tenth of today's numbers, and the difficulty of access, make this land, we believe, unsuitable for development.

2 Site value. It has been suggested that the value of this site for building purposes is approximately £2,000,000, which, if it were to be spent on improving Earby, would possibly help to reconcile the residents to this plan but, again, we all know that this will not be the case, and, as the croquet field was mentioned as a benefit to Earby, at a reported cost of £100,000, can you tell us who in Earby plays croquet? Not one of us knows a single person who plays croquet and this facility was obviously made for outsiders not Earby folk.

3 Privacy. As residents of Barnwood Crescent, this concerns us greatly as our bungalows are set lower than our back gardens which are in turn lower than the field, so the type of new houses and their setting relative to our boundaries could be detrimental to our privacy.

Alan King,

Barnwood Crescent, Earby.

SIR - I would like to express my annoyance and feel sure many other people will support me. I took my two small dogs to the Great Yorkshire Show on July 14 this year only to be told at the gate that they were not allowed on the field, neither could I leave them in the car, even though I had carefully parked under a large tree, had water for them and would have left windows open.

I was told that the RSPCA was checking all cars for dogs whether they were distressed or not.

I had travelled all the way from Keighley to the show, I am a single pensioner on benefits. The only alternative was to put my dogs in a creche charging £2 per hour per dog. After some argument they finally agreed to charge me £3 per hour for them both.

I put them in for two hours as I couldn't afford any more.On the gate I had to pay £11 for myself - exorbitant for a pensioner on top of the dog charge. I had to rush round to see as much as possible in those two hours which wasn't very much. I will never go again.

Then last week I took my grandaughter to Kilnsey Show and had to leave my dogs at home as your advert on the front page of your paper for the show said no dogs allowed.

I didn't want the same treatment and expense I had at Harrogate. On getting there we saw lots of people taking their dogs onto the field and inside saw dogs everywhere. I was very annoyed to say the least when my dogs were left indoors all day on their own. I take my dogs with me whenever possible and hate to leave my treasured pals at anytime.

These are two venues I have definitely crossed off my list for next year. I always carry poop scoop bags and use them wherever I am. I wish other people would follow my example especially in the area I live in as it is quite a disgrace.

It would be interesting to hear from other readers on the show subject. Why are dogs always sought out when there is plenty of other animal mess on the field?

Mrs M Connor,

Redwood Close, Long Lee.

SIR - I am not a dog owner, or even a dog lover. I am just one of thousands of supporters who have, over many years turned up at Kilnsey Show, paid the rather high admission price, and kept the event viable.

Many people come much greater distances to do the same. Just how were they supposed to know about the ban on dogs? No other show has seen fit to impose a rule like this, which is, frankly, treating the public with contempt and smacks of paranoia.

The result is quite predictable A large section of the public will not appear next year. Is the show so financially secure that it can lightly dispense with this income?

The races scrapped this year also need to be reinstated. They have been a popular feature for many years, and there can be no possible reason why they should not continue.

Monica Sutcliffe,

Salisbury Street, Colne.

SIR - What more proof is needed that the law is an ass and braying very loudly than the case reported in last weeks Craven Herald of the motorist who was randomly stopped in Cross Hills by the local police and was subsequently unable to produce MOT or insurance documents for his vehicle.

The average cost of car insurance for today's motorists would be around £400 and MOT around £35. Young motorists could expect to pay up to double this amount when starting their driving careers.

Yet the unbelievable outcome of this case was a fine of £30 by Skipton magistrates and £45 prosecution costs.

Whilst recognising the fact that in "modern" Britain our magistrates are far from free to use their own judgment in these matters, can they honestly say they are serving public interest?

We are constantly being told that we are living in a fairer Britain - but fairer for who?

AJA Smith

Colne Road, Glusburn.

SIR - Has the British judicial system gone mad? You report that a Skipton man was fined £200 for illegal car parking (Craven Herald August 27) and immediately below this is a report on a woman who was fined £225 for assaulting another person.

Can I suggest that anyone fined for illegal parking beats up the traffic warden, you'll only get fined a further £25 and I'm sure feel a lot better for it.

Dr Robin Bates,

Coppy House, Clapham.

SIR - Can I through your letters column convey a message to Roger Ingham, whose dulcet tones were hogging the 'mike' at Malham Show the other week.

Some people like to watch football on Saturday night without knowing the score, so I was less than pleased when I heard a broad Yorkshire accent announcing over the loudspeaker that Manchester United had drawn with Blackburn Rovers. Please Roger, next time you know the scores and have a 'mike' in your hand, "keep it to thissen, lad".

Larry Crook

Church Street, Giggleswick.

SIR - Get tough on yobs cry the headlines and Mr Blair but I reckon he should give the stocks another go (providing they were modified to protect the yobs' human rights of course). Forget about ASBOs and tagging, a good pelting with rotten eggs would work wonders.

Ray Potter,

Low Lane, Grassington

SIR - Now that the Friends of Airedale car boot season has come to an end for this year we would like to express our thanks to our 'Car Booters' who, despite being a small section of our volunteer helpers, have done so well for us under the leadership of Roger Menary.

This season they have raised the magnificent sum of nearly £5,000 for our funds. This money is solely used for supplying items in our hospital.

May we also thank the security staff who have monitored our 'Boot Sales' so unobtrusively but their presence has been appreciated by all.

We look forward to seeing everyone again next season.

Margaret Moorhouse,

Chairman,

Friends of Airedale Hospital.