Rail station option was buried

The whole thing was most disappointing and apathetic. A small display of photographs and not enough information were on view.

Initially only two option plans were to be seen. On my inquiry as to option three's whereabouts, a map was eventually unrolled and the station plan for option three was mapped out onto it.

(Note - option three involved a southbound platform on the Skipton side of Station Road, a north bound platform on the Keighley side of Station Road)

This was two hours into the consultation. Early visitors would not necessarily have seen this plan previously or even been aware of its existence.

This was quite unacceptable and could cause a biased opinion poll. Option three is obviously the most practical plan and should have been given equal viewing, in as much detail as options one and two were.

We need a railway station that will be practical geographically. A railway station that is a real help to local transport services, for local people, even if this means extra cost.

"The powers that be" don't really seem to want a railway station for our village. If they do, they appear to be wanting the impractical for less cost despite what local opinions may be.

Coun Jennifer Wood,

Station Grove, Cross Hills.

Rabbit problem

SIR - In response to Mrs Calvert of Montreal regarding the rabbit problem in Aireville Park (Craven Herald Letters September 28).

Yes, there is a huge plague of the vermin. Craven District Council officials and councillors take a negative approach of "can't do", "can't afford effective measures", "mustn't alienate the bunny-loving public" and appear to hope that if eyes are shut long enough, the vermin will go away. They won't.

Being satisfied with a part-time ferreter catching a few and having a 'bunnies without mummies' tally chart on the office door says it all.

These often diseased vermin are increasingly attracting rats in the allotment/park area, but Craven DC will doubtless continue to find reasons for doing nothing.

Craven DC is the landowner. It has clearly defined responsibilities under the Pests Act 1954 and Agriculture Act 1947 amongst others.The Aireville Nurseries - a squalid used car dump - Aireville allotments and the pasture land are not public access areas.Therefore commercially available control substances can be used, October to February being the optimum time.

Craven DC's chief executive, officers, committee chairs and councillors need to act and get the matter sorted.

I have been trying to get effective action for two years.

S Clark,

Belgrave Street, Skipton.

Plea to farmers

SIR - With reference to the plea from the Dales Recovery Fund committee for people suffering from the effects from the foot and mouth crisis to come forward for financial help, I write as one who has gladly given to this fund and also promoted a collection for it within my own social sphere.

The request speculated as to whether the reason for reticence might be that folk are too proud to accept help. I do hope this does not prove to be the case.

Many Yorkshiremen, women and children (and others from further afield?) have readily given donations thus expressing the concern and empathy we have for all the Dales communities who are experiencing such a hard time just now.

We care about your difficult situations, and we want to help to make things a bit easier for you.

I, personally, am especially concerned for farmers who have had to continue feeding their animals -being unable to move them as normal - and who are finding it a huge struggle to meet bills for animal feed. This will presumably cause further massive problems over the coming winter months.

Don't struggle alone - this is why we have given! And we shall all reap the benefits when we are able, once again, to freely travel about our lovely Dales and fully enjoy the stunning countryside, its animals and all the facilities there that we value so much.

Don't let our gifts be passed over. We want them to make a difference. Please accept them in the spirit in which they are given. and allow us to work in partnership with you towards a better future for our countryside and all its inhabitants.

Sylvia Walker,

Styveton Way, Steeton.

Out of hand

SIR - I was amazed to read in the Craven Herald of October 5 the report, including excerpts from anonymous letters about the Giggleswick Church clock chimes.

I think the situation has become rather "out of hand"! It is dividing the village and it should have never been allowed to come to this.

The letter writers say that people at the far end of the village are selfish: are not the letter writers from the village centre also being selfish for wanting the chimes kept silent?

I have lived only a stone's throw from the church for the past 27 years and the chimes have never kept me awake at night, even with the window open.

If I go to visit other places, I accept the sights, sounds and smells of that place and if I didn't like it I would move on elsewhere!

I was under the impression the Craven Herald didn't normally publish anonymous letters - the writers are very sad if they are not man (or woman) enough to stand up and say who they are.

Please let's stop all this 'bickering' and get back to normality.

Helen Reid,

Tems Street, Giggleswick.

Knight of the aisles

SIR - I write to confirm that the age of genuine kindness is not dead, but alive and very well indeed in Skipton.

I shopped in Tesco one evening. My goods were partway through the checkout when I realised that I could not find my small wallet of cards.

Never mind, they know me here. I'll pay by cheque and put my address on the back. Problem: the technology won't accept a cheque without a card.

By this time, I'm very concerned about my cards and very embarrassed to be holding up the queue.

Up steps a white knight in the form of the man behind me, who offers to pay cash for my shopping in return for my cheque.

I've not met you before, but thank you, Ian Parker, for rescuing me. (The wallet was on the kitchen table at home!).

Jill Wright,

Walker Close, Glusburn.

Perplexing

SIR - in the Craven Herald of September 28 the Airedale National Health Trust reported they had achieved their financial target for the year, which was pleasing to know.

In this context the letter from the chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee (in the Craven Herald at the same time) is most perplexing, for he tells us that the proposed merger of the Craven and Harrogate Primary Group will take away "the focus" from Airedale Hospital and there are many developments not progressing due to the lack of funding.

This would seem to imply that it is the income aspect which interests him most of all when he advocates a Craven and Airedale Group alliance. He is not alone it would appear!

Surely budgeting for future developments at Airedale Hospital is the concern and prerogative of the hospital National Health Trust, not Primary Care Trusts - who will have their own criteria to meet. If there is a shortfall the hospital trust itself will look, no doubt, to Government sources for additional finance.

Dr Michael Crawford expresses doubt that if some services at Airedale are not funded they would be transferred to Bradford or Leeds and warns that if Airedale Hospital misses out it is unlikely that Lancaster or Burnley would receive contributions to their development.

The relevance in quoting two hospitals in a different county, Lancashire, and subject to a different Health Authority, seems odd and only serves to confuse the debate, which is about Airedale Hospital itself. One hopes he takes seriously the promises made and continuously confirmed by the proposed Craven and Harrogate Primary Group Trust that Airedale Hospital will be supported by local GPs as before. Surely their assurances cannot be denied or cast aside.

Harold Rose,

Main Street, Long Preston.

Confused

SIR - I don't think I can be the only person who's getting confused about the whole business of the public consultation on the proposed Primary Care Trust.

Firstly we have Robert Allen, chief executive of Airedale NHS Trust telling us that whether or not a PCT can cross a health authority boundary is not black and white, but grey.

And yet in June of this year Dr Julian Allen (chairman of Craven Primary Care Group) stated that it was indeed possible for Craven to merge with Airedale. He also commented on the strong support in Craven, and that because of the strength of this support, an independent review was commissioned, and they too stated that Craven joining with Airedale was possible.

Dr Tom Gibson expressed his concern over the transparency of the negotiations, for the simple reason that Dr Allen had stated that it was unlikely that the public would even be informed about the two options.

Well now we have been, and it's interesting to see how Denise Arnott has condescended to change her mind, and allow that it is indeed possible for a merger with Airedale to take place.

Many of us in the public have a great deal of faith in our doctors and nurses, but (perhaps not surprisingly) less in our non medical executives.

I find Denise Arnott's newspaper announcements to be little more than advertisements, for example the lady has stated:

"The local medical committee (the group which represents all GPs in North Yorkshire) has carried out a poll of local GP opinion." She reveals that a total of 32 GPs bothered to vote, and of these 17 were in favour of a merger with Harrogate.

This poll is too full of holes to carry any credibility whatsoever, for example:

It was not carried out by an independent body; with only 32 GPs voting it is hardly representative; what was the question that was asked, and how unbiased was it?

As has been repeatedly stated, our local GPs will not alter at all, the only change might be (as was pointed out by Dr Crawford, chairman of Airedale District Hospital Medical Advisory Committee)the very real chance that Craven patients might have to travel to more remote hospitals, such as Harrogate.

It's also noteworthy that on page 2 of the Craven Herald it is reported that every doctor, every nurse, and every manager, at Airedale Hospital oppose the merger with Harrogate. Are their views to be ignored, or cast aside?

I read the statements from various councillors about how things will not change, except for the better, and that public consultation will be had, but I remember Skipton Hospital's closure, and the consultation taking place after the event, not before it.

The whole tone of this exercise seems to me to be a half hearted and begrudged effort at democracy, with resentful admissions that it was indeed possible for a merger between Craven and Airedale to take place, but no apology for the fact that it was advertised as being impossible to for such a merger.

In summary then we have:

A strong body of opinion that merging with Airedale is not only possible but desirable, a body so strong that the chairman of Craven Primary Care Group had commissioned an independent review, who stated that such a merger was possible.

Every doctor, nurse, and manager at Airedale Hospital opposing a merger with Harrogate.

The chief executive of Craven Primary Care Group presumably not even knowing that what she wrote a few weeks ago about a merger with Airedale being impossible and illegal, was incorrect, despite Robert Allen stating that such a merger is possible.

Only 17 doctors in the local area are in favour of a merger with Harrogate, and that when answering a question which we don't know, from a non-independent body.

Robert Allen summed up the choice succinctly, "It's all about getting the best possible health care for the community" and I for one am more ready to believe those doctors and nurses than I am to believe executives who cannot get a fundamental fact correct in what appears to be a haste to merge with Harrogate.

Finally a plea. We, the public, have a great deal of faith in our doctors, we have to. With the editor's permission I would ask all local doctors, nurses, and all directly concerned with patient care (directly not allowing for executives, councillors, etc) to telephone in or write to the Craven Herald and simply answer the following question.

Do you support a merger with Harrogate or with Airedale?

This is an important issue, and I hope that the Craven Herald will allow us to hear what our doctors and nurses, all of them in the area, believe to be in our best interest.

Alan Perrow,

Bannister Walk, Cowling.

Legal memories

SIR - My cousin has just sent me the photograph of the staff of Charlesworth, Wood and Brown taken in 1948 and published in the Craven Herald on September 7.

I recognise the unidentified man standing on the right in the front row as Mr Townsend, who succeeded Mr Bramley as cashier.

Mr WJ Spence was my great uncle, who worked for the firm until his retirement at the age of 93. He was managing clerk throughout the war when Mr SE Brown was in the RAF and the staff was much reduced consisting only of Mr EP Rowley, Dr RG Rowley, Mr Edwin Ayrton of Carleton, Mr Bramley, cashier, Miss Ellen Lenton, my uncle's secretary, Miss Margaret Rowley, secretary to her father and brother, and Mr Dale Brown, father of SE Brown, who came into the office part time.

I worked there as a copy typist during my school holidays from 1942 until the end of the war.

Miss Betty Throup,

St Vincent Avenue,

Marton, Blackpool.

Cards won't work

SIR - The Government is considering compulsory ID cards.

The security 'argument' is a flimsy excuse - ID cards wouldn't have stopped the New York suicide bombers, and will not deter criminals who can easily steal or forge them.

Instead they will inconvenience millions of ordinary people and threaten our civil liberties.

The cost of introducing ID cards has been estimated towards £500 million plus £100 million every year. That's money that won't be going into public services. It means foregoing several major new hospitals, tens of thousands of operations and decent pay for our nurses.

After public protest, Australia, New Zealand and the USA all dropped plans for ID cards. Readers should lobby their Member of Parliament before it's too late.

Brian Mooney,

New Alliance, PO Box 13199,

London SW6 6ZU