Council loan will help the disabled

Colin said that I was 'somewhat inaccurate' in my letter, in that the loan 'would have cost the council taxpayers (and their children) half a million pounds'. If you look at my letter (original on show in the Labour Rooms window - we are not afraid of the truth).

I said: "The total cost will be almost £500,000." I was accurate; it was his budget that was somewhat inaccurate!

John rightly draws attention to the state of the plasterwork in the main hall, which was featured on the front page of this paper. It is to repair this and the other dilapidations of the last 20-odd years, that we need to borrow so much.

Colin's budget would not have done anything about this, and only done the minimum to make the building meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act.

We believe that people in wheelchairs should not be discriminated against because they are not as mobile as the rest of us. This is why we want stair lifts, and not ramps.

Gerald McGowan

15 Queen's Place,

Otley.

Waste of money

SIR, - I was interested to read Arthur Bailey's letter about the Manor Park road scheme. Obviously one has the greatest sympathy with those injured on the Manor Park bends.

Arthur is right in saying that lower speed limits will reduce the number of accidents. Speed cameras are of tremendous benefit to motorists, because no motorist wants to be killed by a reckless driver. It is always better to kill your speed rather than kill a child.

We cannot spend millions of pounds on small road improvements. We should be looking to spend more money on rail and less on roads. The Manor Park road scheme would cost £5 million. It costs £1 million to build a railway station so we could have stations at Arthington, Kirkstall, Armley, Apperley Bridge and Low Moor instead of a minor road improvement. I would rather see the money spent on a rail link to Otley.

Otley should be linked to both Harrogate and the Airedale and Wharefdale lines. This would mean the people of Otley would have a direct link with Ilkley. It also means people in Ilkley and Otley could take the train to Horsforth and Headingley.

This would be of tremendous benefit to the supporters of Yorkshire and would be particularly useful, when Headingley hosted Test Matches. It would be good for hoteliers in Otley and Ilkley, because a fast rail link would make their hotels more attractive to cricket fans. Otley and Ilkley could look forward to having visitors from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India and Pakistan.

New railway stations reduce the need for unnecessary car use. They mean fewer children suffer from asthma and fewer people die of cancer and heart problems. They would lead to fewer deaths in accidents, because rail is six times safer than other forms of transport.

They would lead to substantial savings for the health service. They would mean emergency vehicles were less likely to be delayed by traffic. They would make streets safer for pedestrians.

New stations reduce congestion and help ease gridlock. Global warming is causing flooding, rising sea levels and coastal erosion. There is a need to reverse this trend and stop building new roads and spend much more on public transport. The Government must recognise a child's right to breathe and clearly new railway stations lead to improved air quality.

Mick Beaty

Friends of the Earth,

74 Kirkgate,

Leeds..

Party concern

SIR, - Malcolm Naylor invites me to respond to his letter. Labour did, he is right, on one occasion increase pensions by 1.1per cent which equated to 75p on the minimum basic pension.

Neither Malcolm Naylor nor anybody else can tell me of anybody who received only 75p. Unfortunately Labour did not defend the accusations of a 75p rise. The rise was in line with inflation.

The lies belonged to the Tories and Liberals. To highlight the honesty and integrity of my party and its members, let me illustrate the situation of Jenny Bennett. Jenny chose to resign from the council because of personal reasons and that she could see that her circumstances prevented her from giving her 100 per cent commitment.

Until she resigned her commitment was 100 per cent. Examine her attendance record at council meetings. Compare this to a Liberal councillor who holds on to her seat but seldom attends council meetings.

Malcolm, no attempt is made by me, for political advantage, to discredit you. My aim is for you to give the true facts. The plight and payments of carers is not known by me and as a town councillor it is of little concern for me as my power and influence is not as great as that of Malcolm Naylor.

What is of concern to me is that he seeks to discredit my party. Labour does not seek to exploit either the weak or the poor. Labour supports these people.

Otley Disability Advisory Group (ODAG) members have not made a fuss about Invalid Care Allowance. They would if they were put under severe hardship or even if their benefits did not keep pace with inflation. They would have my support and the support of many other Labour members.

Coun Ray Dunn

42 St Davids Road,

Otley.

Threat to traders

SIR, - With reference to your report on the Otley Market in the Wharfedale Observer, can I point out that for at least 40 years to my knowledge there have been stalls the full length of Kirkgate (both sides) and it was a very thriving market when it was under the control of Otley UDC.

I wholeheartedly agree with the market traders that Leeds City Council is doing its level best, if not to close the market, at least confine it into the Market Place with a loss of even more traders. No doubt with the thought of escalating costs being minimised.

The market traders turn out in all weather, year in, year out, to try to help Otley keep viable, trading to both residents and visitors alike. Leeds City Council seem to put up obstacles for everyone and everything in that respect.

Skipton has a market and a very thriving community and it is only a few miles away. After all, Otley has been a market town for centuries and we are also part of the Dales.

Otley is dying and a lot more should be done to promote its shops, markets and amenities. Perhaps Leeds City Council would care to utilise the fact that Thomas Chippendale was born here and the fact that various locations in Otley have been used for years in the filming of Heartbeat and Emmerdale in their tourist information brochures.

Leeds has done its utmost to spoil all the facilities to do with Otley since they took over in 1974. If they had their way everything would be closed down that was of any cost to them. Where we once had a very attractive and happy town, they just seem to keep all monies for their pet projects in the centre of the city. It is about time that some of the money was ploughed back.

On the subject of the boats, also reported in the Wharfedale Observer, surely someone in the Leeds City Council realises that this is a yearly happening on our river. Don't they have diaries to put these matters into so that it can be dealt with in time for the commencement of the season.

There again, this goes back almost in history that Otley has always had boats on the River Wharfe, or doesn't anyone from the City Council ever come out to Otley in the summer to find out?

K Jackson

297 Bradford Road,

Otley.

Markets history

SIR - With apologies for the delay, may I make some further comments on the issue of Farmers Markets in response to the letter from Councillor Lawrence Ross?

He and I agree that Otley Town Partnership is the mechanism through which Farmers' Markets can best be delivered - thereafter I disagree with most of the points he makes.

He says, for example that Farmers' Markets is a Lib-Dem initiative from the year 2000. He fails to mention that the groundwork for specialist Sunday markets, of which Farmers' Markets is one, was laid by Labour councillors in previous years. For details see Otley Town Partnerships 1997 publication 'Otley Centre Action'.

He says the council has given no financial help to Otley Town Partnership. Not true - Labour councillors have given grants totalling £750 and last year the council itself gave £500. And in this financial year Labour will provide the Partnership with £1,000 in contrast to the Lib Dem budget (since overturned) which would have given nothing.

Finally he points to the council's help to the Partnership through free use of rooms for meetings and time from council staff.

For the Lib-Dems that was a complete U-turn from their initial opposition to giving the Partnership any help at all. I see a contrast here between Labour's record of long-term involvement, hard work and a willingness to give support, including modest sums of money, with the Lib Dem record which looks to be a rather thin one.

Kevin Cooney

18 Sunnydale Ridge,

Otley.

Bloom thanks

SIR, - Through your paper could I thank all the citizens of Guiseley who helped clear litter from our streets in preparation for the Spring judging of Yorkshire in Bloom . The judging took place on a Thursday and many people were impressed with how clean the streets looked. There were many volunteers out in the weeks leading up to the competition making sure that the streets were cleared of litter and weeds.

Thanks are also due to the many shopkeepers who also helped by making sure the frontages of their own premises were litter free. The scale of our litter problem was highlighted by the fact that from two local car parks in the centre of Guiseley, 24 large bags of rubbish were collected.

With a great many new litter bins in place, there is no need for litter to be thrown on to our streets. In the near future Guiseley in Bloom is to look into the litter problem, the general cleaning of our streets, and the illegal dog fouling of our pavements and grassed areas.

We all want to see Guiseley clean and tidy and this is to be our aim, along with more floral planting and the presentation of Guiseley as a desirable place both to live and work.

Shirley Hughes-Rowlands

Co-ordinator,

Guiseley in Bloom,

101 Park Road,

Guiseley.

Bring boats back

SIR -Further to your report concerning the rowing boats in Otley, I concur with the councillors that the sooner the boats are back on the Wharfe the better for Otley.

The pleasure craft not only generate income for the franchisee, it generates all sorts of peripheral revenue for shops in Otley, cafes etc. etc. When tourists see pleasure craft on the Wharfe they automatically visualise Otley as a tourist town and therefore make return visits, again generating cash for the town as a whole.

I would also add that the long tradition of boating in the town adds to the community spirit combined with central schools (All Saints) and the housing in the middle of the town all generate the unique atmosphere that Otley has.

Therefore I would ask Leeds City Council please, please, please organise a franchise as soon as possible, please do not delay.

C P Newsome

Watson Lane Farmhouse,

Watsons Lane,

Norwood.