ANOTHER year has flown past, one which will live long in the memory for all the wrong reasons.

Our message of hope for the powers that be is that it is time to stop eroding the critical mass of Craven in the name of "efficiency" - a euphemism for "penny pinching".

Over the last 10 or so years, one constant theme of our columns has been the constant closure of this, or that facility as more and more of Craven's vital services are absorbed by Northallerton, Harrogate or - in the case of the health service - Hull. Usually these improvements are made after consulting the public, a cynical exercise as the authorities intend not to take a blind bit of notice of what the public wants. The decision has already been made.

The latest in this long list of imposed cutbacks in Craven's public services is the office at Skipton Magistrates' Court. It is a certainty that, no matter what the outcome of consultation, the closure will go ahead. Sadly it is almost as certain that where the court office goes, the court itself will eventually follow.