Early morning swims must stay

It is not before time that a positive attitude to the existing pool was adopted and it will be interesting to note whether Craven District Council, having allowed the place to fall into decline during the past decade, will provide money for essential maintenance and decoration (emphasis on essential; no more hideous blow-up cows please)

Ideas for increased and new activity programmes at the pool are commendable and, provided they are met with appropriate financial backing, may go some way to enticing the public back to the pool.

With regard to publicity, any at all would be an improvement on the amount the pool has received (other than the negative kind) for two years or more. So, theoretically, we are on the right track.

However, before we crack open the champagne, let us consider Mr Barr's statement: "We want more people to be active more often. We would be interested to hear from groups of people who do not feel that their needs are being catered for at the pool."

This being the case, why, oh why, is it (once again) being proposed that the early morning serious swim sessions (6.15am-8.45am) are curtailed? If one is trying to get "more people active more often", cutting out the time when between 40 and 70 people per day swim is a strange way of going about it!

The early morning sessions began some six or seven years ago as a response to a demand and are attended by a cross-section of the public: senior citizens, who simply want to swim in peace without being bombarded by children; night-shift workers; people such as myself, who start work at 7.30am (or 8am or 8.30am) and are prevented from swimming at any other time by family or other commitments; in short people who actually want to swim.

If the increased programme of activities does take off, there will be even less opportunity for the serious swimmer; more parts of the pool laned off, more restricted opening times etc, etc. Having spoken to many of my early-morning colleagues, it is clear that we are all concerned that more and more activities are geared towards children and year after year, the early morning sessions are threatened.

We have heard the tired excuses from Craven District Council and whilst we all agree that the pool needs a boost, the council's attitude is just not good enough.

So, Mr Barr, on behalf of the "early birds", I implore you to leave our early morning sessions alone, otherwise you will indeed be hearing from a large group of people whose needs are not being met by the pool.

Miss CA Green,

Victoria Street,

Sutton-in-Craven.

Cosmetic

SIR - So, now it can be told ..... the seemingly concerned 'Evaluation' questionnaires that have been offered to Aireville pool users over the past weeks were intended not as an aid to management in the improvement of facilities and services offered to customers, they were in fact to give some guidance in the short term cosmetic make-over that may help in the sale of the pool.

We read the encouraging and optimistic article in last week's Craven Herald about the management's future plans, only now to realise that it was a cynical smoke screen to hide what is the real intention, that is, to sell off a public amenity, which although it has been paid for by the rate payers, has been shamefully neglected by those responsible for its planning and management.

We sincerely hope that there will be enough public outrage to bring the council to its senses before we lose an important part of our community facilities.

Margaret Corr,

Bardon Road,

Eastby

Lenient

SIR - How I endorse the feelings of Dr Richard Lord in the article "Dad hits out at lenient sentence" (Craven Herald May 19).

Like him, our daughter was involved in a car accident on the Settle to Horton-in-Ribblesdale road last autumn. A 17-year-old youth who recently passed his test lost control of his car on a sweeping bend, hit my daughter's car virtually head on, bounced off her car and hit her husband's car, which was following.

The result was that three cars were written off and six people injured, four of them had to spend time in hospital.

My daughter was trapped in her car for one-and-a-half hours and her injuries were the most serious. She suffered several broken ribs, has a metal plate in her right arm and had a badly damaged left ankle and severe cuts to her knee.

Eight months later she is in constant pain because arthritis has set into the ankle joint and she can only walk short distances with the help of crutches. She now has to have two more operations, one to immobilise the joint so she will never walk properly again.

Subsequently the youth was taken to Court where he was fined £50 with four penalty points on his licence. To add insult to injury, he is now boasting of his lenient sentence.

I feel, like Mr Lord, that the law is not being properly implemented by magistrates or else they have their hands tied by too lenient laws.

It seems that the law is on the side of the perpetrator of the crime rather than the victim. This boy admitted to showing off in front of two younger passengers and the police said they expected him to lose his licence. So, like Mr Lord, I say "the law is a farce. There should be tougher sentences!"

AA Bancroft,

Ingfield Crescent, Settle.

Co-ordinated

SIR - In recent copies of the Craven Herald, I read of various issues affecting Settle:

o Numerous reports of local speeding convictions

o Letters regarding wagons through the town

o Sleeplessness in Station Road

o Leave to appeal by Mr Leakey to the High Court regarding Bond Lane

o Another look at A65 usage

There seem to be many smaller infrastructure issues yet no overall view.

Despite the unwelcome timing, particularly in the light of the recent local foot and mouth outbreaks around Settle, there are elections looming.

Perhaps we should be asking the candidates what they might intend to do about a co-ordinated plan for infrastructure in Settle as a whole rather than individual issues in isolation.

Allan Gould

Higher Halsteads,

Settle.

Anomaly

SIR - I would like to suggest to all voters in the Skipton area they consider the following when making their choice in the forthcoming county council elections.

Some 10 percent less children on average each year in the Skipton catchment area study to A Level than do in the rest of the county.

That means that about 30 of our children do not reach a potential that they would do if they lived in Thirsk, Northallerton or Richmond.

Please ask your county council candidates what policies their party has to correct this anomaly. Reintroduction of transport assistance to students from Upper Wharfedale who are studying A levels at South Craven School might be a good start.

It is very easy for everyone to focus on the highest achieving students whilst forgetting about the others.

Graeme Hitchen

Bradley.

Listening

SIR - Shelagh Marshall was right to point out in her letter (Craven Herald, May 4) that this authority is not required to consult the public on its car park charging policy.

Yet the fact remains we listened to the public through our 'area actions' initiative and wrote to the parish councils, where we have car parks, asking for their comments. Result: our charges were reduced!

As a former member of this authority she quite rightly quotes our duty as "to seek to foster the economic and social well-being of local communities". However, she has quoted it out of context.

This "duty" can only be applied in pursuit of our purposes, these being to "conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage" and to "promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the park(s) by the public," and not on its own.

This is why we finance and run seven National Park Centres to promote all that is good in the national park, local accommodation and businesses included.

This is why we fund 100 per cent of the cost of repairs to stiles and furniture on rights of way, a bill farmers outside the National Park have to pay up to 75 per cent themselves.

This is why we fund a walls and barns scheme. This is why we run a farm conservation scheme.

And yes, amongst many other initiatives, this is why we have reduced our daily car park charge to encourage the public to stay for longer in our towns and villages.

Mrs Marshall will know that it is the district councils and county councils who have the primary responsibility to look after the "economic well-being" of the local communities. It is a shame she looks for a scapegoat in the shape of this authority, which is doing all it can to help local communities within the confines of the Act of Parliament that directs our work.

In the run up to a local election, whilst it upsets me, I accept that local politicians will want to score points over authorities like ours, car parks charges are an easy target after all. Yet Mrs Marshall may remember that when she was a member of this Authority our car park charges were £3.50 a day, not the £2 it is now.

As a final point, it needs to be remembered where the money we make from our car parks goes. It funds our work to protect and enhance this special place. It is an investment in the future, in the landscape, the plant and animal life and the towns and villages the public come to see.

If we took a short-term view we could reduce the charges further but this would come at the expense of the work we undertake to protect this area's best economic asset - its environment.

David Butterworth

Chief Executive

Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority

Grassington

Plans alert

SIR - We are frequently reminded by consumer watchdogs and others to read the small print. I hope that those who have an appreciation of the distinctive nature of the Settle and Giggleswick environment and landscape are doing just that.

The Craven Herald of May 4 carried a notice of a planning application relating to reserved matters for 27 dwellings and garages on Lord's Field, off Bankwell Road, Giggleswick. This is land sold by Giggleswick School to Merewood Homes Ltd.

How many local readers noticed the increase from the 25 dwellings for which outline permission was given in March 1999 (this had already been increased from 20 dwellings and was permitted despite objections from the parish council and 85 residents)?

But even the small print does not reveal that this amended application proposes a three-storey block of six dwellings, on level ground, adjacent to Bankwell Road, and involves the demolition of a mature tree. The site is a windfall site given permission for housing use, against the provisions in the development plan, before sites at Castlebergh Hospital, Kings Mill, Goldielands and Townhead became available for housing.

For those who may not have realised the hidden details and do have concerns, there is still just time to express them. The reference is 62/2001/1062, and the time limit is 25 May.

TH Foxcroft,

Bankwell Road, Giggleswick.

Distraught

SIR - I would like to bring to your notice the problems our farmers are experiencing in Upper Wharfedale.

Visitors not abiding by the rules and going on to land occupied by farm livestock.

Last weekend I was called to witness it for myself, a totally distraught farmer rang me to see what could be done about all the people roaming on his land at Yockenthwaite. He approached the visitors he was told Mr Blair said the countryside is not closed and that they were not doing any harm. That was the general comment from the members of the public approached.

The reason I was contacted as a member of North Yorkshire County Council and a member of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority was that I would be able to use my position to persuade the visitors to be responsible and not leave the main road.

I too was told that the countryside was not closed and that the foot and mouth was over. I did get the visitors to go back to their cars.

We must let the public know that we are in a more serious situation than at any other time in the present crisis, foot and mouth is in Craven and we must do all we can to stop it spreading.

Farming is the lifeblood of the Dales without it we would face a bleak future so it is the responsibility of all of us to help in getting rid of this disease once and for all. The election is not a good reason to stop talking about foot and mouth; may I remind the politicians.

Farmers stand to lose everything, not just a few votes, so stop playing politics and help us get the message to all the public. We face a very grave threat. Without people being responsible things will only get worse.

Coun Alex Bentley,

Hazel Bank Farm,

Oughtershaw.

Service

SIR - I read with interest your article in the Craven Diary last week about the people who could not get any food in a Wharfedale pub after 2pm. Surely this can't be right, wasn't it only a few weeks ago that various members of the tourism fraternity were bemoaning the losses they were suffering because of the foot and mouth crisis and lack of tourists?

When are these people going to realise that if they purport to provide a service then they should do just that, this arcane dictate that no food will be served after 2pm simply does not stand up these days, especially now when publicans and the like are supposed to be on their knees financially.

Or perhaps things aren't as bad as they make out.

Mark Carter,

Low Greenfield,

Buckden.

Honesty on buses

SIR - I was on the 1.45 bus to Gargrave on Monday May 14 when I lost my purse.

I phoned Pennine Bus Company the following day and was told the driver had handed it in.

I was so grateful and just want folk to know that there are some very honest people in the world.

Mrs Lilian Collins,

Tile Close,

Skipton.

Theatre woe

SIR - I read with great interest and some sadness the article on the problems of the Little Theatre.

When we came to live in Skipton in the 1960s the theatre was flourishing as Mrs Busfield says.

There were waiting lists for members' tickets and performances very rarely had any seats for sale to non-members.

It was a rule then that booked (ie member) seats were only held until 15 minutes prior to the performance, then patient members of the public were admitted having queued outside for 30 minutes or so.

On two occasions I and my friend queued in terrible weather and on reaching the magical admission time calculated that we were sure to be "in" as there was a very small number ahead of us.

Imagine our anger and disappointment when eight or nine ticket holders rushed up very late and were at once admitted (against the rules).

We were turned away and after the second time this happened we said "no more".

I am not surprised but very sorry that they lack supporters.

J Smith,

Gargrave Road,

Skipton.