Ribblehead does need protecting

Railways are accepted as one of the defining characteristics of the nineteenth century, but there are few traces of the vast human and logistic efforts which went into their construction.

The railway construction camps at Ribblehead are some of the best preserved and documented in this country.

This is why Ribblehead is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, protected by law, and why we have produced a management plan to ensure that it is protected for future generations.

Incidentally, as a National Park Authority we cannot 'schedule' Ancient Monuments. They are designated by the Government, on the recommendation of English Heritage, yet what is important for your readers to remember is that we do have an obligation to help manage the site, to ensure the protection of the remains.

Unmanaged parking, unauthorised camping, damaging camp fires, the removal of stone from walls to make fire hearths and the use of gates and fences as material on camp fires, not to mention the increasing pressure from large scale "Three Peaks Challenge Events" are all threatening this area.

The management plan and enhancement works, which have been developed at the request of the landowner and the Ribblehead Commoners Committee, will allow us to protect the site from the threats I have mentioned.

As well as managing the car parking we will erect displays so visitors can understand the site's special qualities.

This National Park Authority has a responsibility to protect Ribblehead, and it will do so in partnership with those that have a legitimate interest.

David Butterworth,

Acting Chief Executive,

Yorkshire Dales National Park

Authority,

Yorebridge House,

Bainbridge.

Ulterior motive

SIR - Like Robin Wilkinson (August 18), I echo completely Canon David Towers' views (August 11), even down to the plea for a public toilet block at this popular tourist spot, an issue I raised with the Dales national park some years ago.I was told that toilet facilities were planned for the railway station when restored - but would these be open to non-rail users, I wonder?

I did myself put in an official objection to the whole plan upon reading the official notice and original report, but on learning the whole area had been designated as a heritage site by English Heritage, I deemed it useless to press my objection.

The question remains, however, as to what are the criteria for such designations? A collection of remains (if any) of railway navvies' huts are hardly in the same category as Stonehenge and Avebury.

I do wonder if there was some ulterior motive in getting this much-loved corner of the Dales Park severely restricted to countrygoers using their own vehicles, while plastering boulders with "interpretation" notices, better than on urban noticeboards certainly, but still best restricted to the railway station itself, surely?

Such a project would be acceptable in an area like the South Pennines where there is already quite a bit of industrial archaeology, while the landscape, though it has its points, is hardly of the same unspoilt wild appeal of Ribblehead, which is, for my money, the gem of the whole Dales Park.

Then there is the question of SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest) which are the province of English Nature.

One such site is Cowling Moor where the Bradford Motor Club has long held its annual Timperley Cup trial. These moors are so rough that one wonders which did most damage to the other - the motorbikes or the moor.

I am reminded of the parody of a once popular poem:

Up the scheduled mountain,

Down the waymarked glen,

We dare not go a-walking

For fear of planners' men.

ME Price,

Heather Cottage,

Farnhill.

Simple idea

SIR - I have been following with interest the correspondence regarding parking fees for over-staying on Craven District Council car parks.

My sympathies are with those who overstay. As they have paid for a parking ticket, it is obvious that they have no intent to defraud the council by not paying a fee, but having left their vehicle, there are a number of reasons why they may not be able to return to it within the "magic hour or couple of hours".

Delayed doctors or solicitors appointments, longer at the hairdresser than they thought, waiting for a meal they ordered, being taken ill, or just losing track of the time whilst wandering among the market stalls.

A similar thing happened to me in Blackpool a few years ago.

I returned late to my car to find a ticket telling me that I had overstayed. The fine was £30 (horror of horrors) but wait...on the same ticket was a further note which advised me that they were sure my overstay was inadvertent and that if I went now and purchased another parking ticket to cover the period of my overstay and posted this with the said notice to them within seven days, all would be forgiven and I would not owe anything else.

What a simple and effective idea - council compensated for the length of parking time; tourist goes home happy. Cost effective and taking no more staff than the current "big brother" tactics.

Craven District Councillors take note!

Coun Polly English,

Skipton South Ward,

Skipton Town Council,

Burnside Avenue,

Skipton.

Selfish parking

SIR - It is a pity that our local police constables have nothing better to do than issue parking tickets to people who are unable to park outside their own homes, through no fault of their own.

This is due to the indiscriminate and selfish parking of people employed in the town, but too tight to pay car park charges, as most people have to do, even the nurses working at Airedale Hospital.

Due to the nature of my work, I have to travel at varying times of the day and frequently I am unable to park anywhere near my house if it is between the hours of 8.30am and 5pm.

When will the local council and highways departments get together and issue residents' parking permits to the people of Brougham Street and the surrounding areas so we can park our cars without having to run the gauntlet of the local constabulary?

AL Persaud,

Brougham Street,

Skipton.

SBS replies

SIR - I refer to the letter you published on August 18 from Maurice Robinson.

Obviously I am sorry that a customer feels as Mr Robinson does. However, I do need to clarify one or two points as the letter gives a misleading impression.

Very many children have benefited from our Interest Credit Scheme. These are children who have held a Young Sovereign account since the relevant qualifying date in 1996. This account has been available to young savers since 1993 and is required to be held in the name of the child. This means that the child is the customer and member.

However some people choose to hold accounts for children as trustees on their behalf.

Under building society law, not Skipton policy, it is the trustees who are the customers and members, and not the beneficiaries. Since trustees hold accounts "on trust", they are legally obliged to ensure that the beneficiaries are the ones who gain.

Clearly, therefore, if a trustee met the qualifying requirements under our scheme, then the children who are beneficiaries will also have benefited.

John W Dawson,

Solicitor, secretary and

general manager,

Skipton Building Society,

The Bailey,

Skipton.

Disappointed

SIR - I write with reference to your article "Village objections fail to block houses" in the August 11 edition.

Clapham residents are very proud of their village hall, having spent many years fundraising to achieve the recent refurbishments, and it is now a much used and wonderful amenity for our village.

I am, therefore, very disappointed and amazed that the Yorkshire Dales National Park planners have approved the development of the building opposite Clapham Village Hall by Dalesmoor Homes.

Following a site meeting attended by only seven of the planners, almost all of these reported that the proposal should be opposed as conversion of the present building to three dwellings would cause conflict with users of the village hall.

Why then, when presented with these facts by people who had actually seen the site, did Mr Blackie and other planners (who had not been present at the site meeting) ignore their recommendations?

Do they not have any faith in their colleagues' opinions, and if so, what was the point of a site meeting anyway?

If the application had been to convert a building to a village hall, with housing in close proximity, shared access and car parking, would this have been approved? I think not.

I have obviously been misguided in thinking the national park's role was to protect the interests of rural communities. Perhaps in future the planners would benefit from listening, learning and understanding before making decisions that will just look pretty!

Kathryn Richardson,

Green Close Farm,

Clapham.

At great risk

SIR - I would stress the great need for some traffic control outside my property at Greenhow. I would say without question, a major accident is waiting to happen - I am not talking about single deaths, as bad as they are, but something much worse.

Some years ago I have talks with the police, and they said they were considering ways to deal with this problem.

Indeed I believe they came one Saturday, and used the cameras but were not convinced there was a problem.

If I recall the highest speed that was recorded was 54mph, which I would suggest is no surprise if you park a police car in full view for half-a-mile plus either way.

I have been involved with the racing world for most of my working life, and I can say without any question that wagons with 30 and 40 ton loads are exceeding the speed limit, cars are passing at more than the national speed limit every hour of the day, and motorbikes...well we know from recent events what speeds they are going. These are racing bikes, travelling at 100 to 120mph.

I am sure that we all know this, but for how long do we have to wait before something is done?

I am very concerned for the safety of my family - I have three grandchildren here and four adults, plus many visitors. All of them are at great risk.

I very regularly attend accidents - in fact, I have blankets and first aid equipment on stand-by at all times. Some of the accidents do not need police attention, so perhaps the true figures are not known.

I would suggest that the police come and take their readings from my forecourt, out of sight which is the normal practice elsewhere, then I am sure they would get the true picture.

Please before we hit the national news, as we did some 25 years ago at Dibbles Bridge, make some definite move to stop this carnage.

Richard Emmitt,

Fancarl House,

Greenhow.

* Editor's note: This is a copy of a letter sent to Bill Isherwood, area traffic manager for North Yorkshire County Council.

Evasive action

SIR - I am responding to the recent letter from Mrs Vane and Mr Fairbrother regarding Tems Beck, Giggleswick.

Let us first deal with the issue regarding the "missing" ducks.

Ducks are excellent mothers, and they are taking evasive action from the following hazards: the increased population of crows (lurking in the trees and on the telephone wires near the slate bridge) who pluck ducklings from the water; thoughtless parents who allow their children to manhandle the ducklings and irresponsible owners who do not restrain their dogs from chasing the ducks. I have witnessed these events taking place on numerous occasions.

The second issue concerns the state of the beck.

I strongly disagree that the clearing of the weed etc is the responsibility of the parish council. Funds are finite and to expect the council to resolve the problem is both unrealistic and a shirking of the community's collective responsibility.

May I suggest that Mrs Vane and Mr Fairbrother pool their resources and organise a working party to clean up the current problem, and design a structure capable of policing the beck on a permanent basis. I hereby declare myself your first volunteer!

V Walker,

Tems Street,

Giggleswick.

Shame the culprits

SIR - About those vanished ducks (Craven Herald letters, August 11), as should be taught in schools, our evolutionary ancestors never needed to hunt, and where they did, if not disastrous for both hunter and prey, it did neither any good.

Survival of the fittest and our civilisation depended upon the degree of co-operation between us humans and the vegetation and animals of nature.

In the absence of dead ducks or their scattered feathers from animal killings in their habitat, it must be assumed that some greedy person(s) is stealing them.

The solution is to reward "whistle-blowers" who find out, and more important shame the greedy beneficiary culprits.

It should be they who should provide funds or labour for setting up wild duck rearing sites.

RD Leakey,

Belle Hill,

Giggleswick.

Lifesaving query

SIR - Regarding the Grassington man trampled by suckler cows in last Friday's Craven Herald, could anyone tell me the correct procedure to take when being confronted by suckler cows and their calves whilst out walking with my dog?

The obvious thing is to avoid the area altogether, and I realise that, but on many walks you can just come across them in a field where the footpath is located.

I suppose you could scale numerous walls to bypass them, but then you risk damaging the farmers' walls or hurting yourself.

I am not being facetious, but as mine and my dog's life could be in danger, I would welcome the proper way to go about this so as not to end up as the poor man in intensive care and his beloved dog trampled to death.

Mrs A Potter,

Low Lane,

Grassington.

* Editor's note: We put this question to the The National Farmers' Union. It tells us that walkers should have their dogs on a lead. However, if they are approached by suckler cows (identified by having young calves with them) and feel threatened, they should let go of the lead, and allow the dog to escape. Suckler cows are not particularly concerned about human beings but are very nervous around dogs as they are very protective of their young. At the end of the day, dog owners have to use their own judgement and common sense.

What's going on?

SIR - Through your paper, I would like to comment on the running of Craven District Council, with councillors bickering and falling out with each other. What's going on?

The press has been criticised over the years, but there's nowt wrong with the press so long as it prints the truth.

In the past, the management committee of H Crabtree, G Murray, A Howell, S Briggs and N Webster, together with councillors and committees, ran a steady council and workforce, and was respected.

Today's chief executive Rachel Mann and management, together with councillors and committees, have a difficult job, picking up the pieces and getting Craven District Council running smoothly again. This will only happen if everyone pulls together.

The general workforce and white collar workers are constantly under stress in their everyday work. You may say it is a sign of the times, but at the end of the day, they are only human.

Direct Labour and health workers are on the run all day. They jump over garden gates because they haven't time to open them. And if there's a dog loose, they jump back again, and go to the next job. Accidents are bound to happen.

So come on Craven District Council, get your act together. If a job's worth doing, then it's worth doing well.

A 90-year-old man once said to me: "The truth hurts sometimes, lad." But there's nowt wrong with the truth - it brings the best out of people sometimes and makes them think.

Allan Mason,

Jennygill Crescent,

Skipton.

SIR - I am a newcomer to Skipton and like your town very much.

You have lots of assets to show off to visitors and residents, but the canal must be the most distinctive. It provides a lovely, traffic free walk to Aireville Park, another great asset to the town.

That is, it would be a lovely walk if it wasn't treated as an open sewer by dog owners.

In its present condition it is an appalling advertisement for Skipton. I am ashamed to take people along there.

If you want to get visitors to Skipton, I hope you can train your dog owners to clear up their mess.

K Martin,

Milton Street,

Skipton.

Fair thanks

SIR - May I through your columns, thank everyone who helped to make the Scad summer fair such a success on Saturday.

All the money we raise stays in Skipton and the Craven area, so everyone who helps us in any way can see our minibuses and canal boat in use by people who cannot otherwise get about, and know that they have contributed to our work.

With thanks to you and your readers for their continued support.

Edna Birtwhistle,

Chairman,

Skipton and Craven Action for

Disability,

Newmarket Street,

Skipton.

Art confusion

SIR - Last week's letter, August 18, from the Craven Art Club may cause some confusion to the Gargrave resident who are asking for an art club to be provided in Gargrave.

Such a group is at present being arranged with an evening meeting time, and details will be published as soon as possible. Members and ex-members of the Craven Art Club resident in Gargrave, please note especially.

The old established Painting Group which meets on Wednesday afternoons along with the Over 60s will continue as usual.

Bob Atkins,

Goffa Mill,

Gargrave.

Greek nightmare

SIR - This is an open letter to the authorities. If at some future point I am convicted of any offence, please note that I have already served two weeks of whatever sentence may be imposed.

A fortnight in an upstairs apartment in Greece during a heatwave, I think must count as a custodial sentence. My wife declared it too hot and retired to her bedroom for the duration with a fan, some ice and a "do not disturb" notice.

It gets worse: community service and massive fines were also imposed. Five teen and twenty-something offspring came too, along with two hangers-on.

These are, of course, all of the tick-box and multiple-choice generation who have to be managed and encouraged all the time and are incapable of even closing the lid of the CD player on their own initiative.

This limpness of spirit was accompanied by an insatiable desire for anything which cost money, and even the ones with jobs seemed to have their pockets sewn up when dad was about.

Swimming in the sea was not "cool", it had to be banana boat riding or parascending.

Lying on the beach was not on unless on a paid-for sunbed and exploring the island had to be done on a "safari" by Land Rover rather than on foot or by bike.

Evenings were, if anything, worse. Greek licensing laws seem to have been amended so that visitors can drink ouzo from age 10.

So instead of waiting outside with a lemonade and a bag of crisps, they all poured into the taverna where the grinning owner hosed them with grub and expensive designer drinks until closing time (4am).

Even the wife stirred and came to the feast, having been aroused by the owner's magical cry of "We take Visa".

Later, lying sweating on a single sheet, with a frozen bottle of mineral water under each arm and swotting mosquitos from time to time, I dreamed of our Dale. Cool and fresh, green fields instead of half built villas and no blooming shops for a good 10 miles. I think I'm turning into a Yorkshireman!

Doug Macleod,

Halton Hall,

Halton Gill.