Letters to the editor

SIR - Regarding 'Mercury fears over public clock' (Craven Herald, April 9) I had to check the date of your issue of April 9 to reassure myself that this item could not be an April Fool story.

Councillors Paul Whitaker and John Binns need not have excited themselves over proposing the replacement of the mercury switch in the Holy Trinity church clock. Mercury switches have been in use for decades without any ill effects upon our dear children and no doubt will continue to be used for further decades without ill effects.

The switches contain a very small amount of mercury sealed in a glass tube, usually quite securely mounted in the mechanism. This metallic mercury in its elemental state would present very little danger to the good citizens of Skipton and their children even if all of them crammed in to the church clock room and stood around inhaling the fumes for a good few hours.

They would have to smash the tube, manhandle the contents and preferably dissolve the metal in acid and drink the result before serious harm could come to them.

A number of school children of my generation would be able to recount tales of obtaining small amounts of mercury from broken clinical and other thermometers and using the same to form silvery amalgams on the surface of old halfpenny pieces to play tricks upon their unsuspecting friends without any obvious signs of ill effects. Such high jinks would be most out of place in the clock room and most unlikely too one would think.

To suggest replacing an important part of an historic clock mechanism on the basis of such negligible dangers and at what would be great expense would be rather like suggesting stopping up all the windows in the castle because some idiot urchin might fling himself to death therefrom.

I truly hope the Town Council's Finance and General Purposes committee will consign this proposal to the waste bin. Let the mercury switch be relocated properly into its clip and the tax payers of Skipton will be saved the expense of an unnecessary new arrangement. After all, one would not consider removing the pewter organ pipes because tin and lead can damage one's health!

I am sure the committee was well intentioned but surely they have more important things to consider.

RK Messent,

Beech Hill Road, Carleton.

Action not words

SIR - Your 'Letters to the editor' recently carried one entitled 'Time for action' concerning an ongoing problem which anyone can tackle if they will put action where their mouths are.

Since last year, legislation has made it an offence to leave dog mess on all public places in 40mph restricted areas. It is up to those residents who complain to witness the culprits, identify them, make a note of time and place and contact Craven District Council's environmental health department, or our very hard working dog warden.

The remedy to this problem is with the citizen. If you cannot be bothered to take action, then stop complaining.

The law is only as good as the enforcement thereof.

AK Taylor,

Greta View, Burton-in-Lonsdale.

Views sought

SIR - We read in your columns that parking in Settle square has come under debate.

Parking arrangements in Grassington Square too arouse varied opinions as to whether this open space could serve the village any better than it does now. Most of the area has been registered as a village green held by the parish council.

For the council's assistance we as residents should like to encourage discussion during the coming months.

Charles Rhodes,

High Lane, Grassington,

Emma and Richard Harland,

Four Winds, Grassington.

Literacy lessons

SIR - Ings Primary and Nursery School has been running a family literacy programme for the first time this year.

Parents of children under six are coming in to school to learn more about ways of helping their children with reading and writing. At the same time, parents who wish to improve their own education are following courses with a tutor from Craven College.

The whole school has been delighted with the response from parents and the impact it has had upon the children's progress. We have just heard that we have secured a small grant to fund this again from autumn this year. This will coincide with the National Year of Reading, which starts then.

We have some parents who speak English as a second language and who would like further opportunity to develop their skills and confidence in English.

If you feel that you could give one or two hours a week to help these keen parents to improve their English by working in the programme on a volunteer basis, then please contact me at Ings School. The course content will be planned by the tutor but we need volunteers to work one to one with these parents. If you are interested in the project please contact me at school on Skipton 793159.

Helen Sturges,

Head teacher, Ings School,

Broughton Road, Skipton.

Danger junction

SIR - I would like to bring to attention the potential dangers of a road junction on the outskirts of Skipton. It is one that I use quite regularly, both in daylight and darkness, and it is the latter which presents particular difficulty, even with prior knowledge of the road conditions.

The junction concerned is on the north east side of Skipton, reached by following Otley Road to its end. Here the A65 to Ilkley/Leeds meets the road leading up to the roundabout where the A59 to Harrogate joins it, just behind Skipton Rock Quarry.

It is a T junction which has two adjacent lanes leading out of it (one for turning each way) and two separate entry lanes, a long way apart, for turning into it from each direction. The entry from the Ilkley side is an easy slip road, but when approaching down the hill from the roundabout and turning right into Skipton at this junction, there are several factors which make this a hazardous manoeuvre, especially at night.

First and foremost of these is that there is only one signpost marked "Skipton" after the roundabout, and it is approximately halfway between the latter and the actual turning. There is no further sign on either side of the road facing the approaching traffic to indicate where to turn off, or where to prepare for doing so.

Secondly, the main road sweeps downhill in a long curving left-hand bend on which the camber tilts to the left, away from the turn-off. Although there is a traffic island positioned in the mouth of the junction itself, this is set well back from the edge of the road; as it is also on a downhill which slopes away from the main road quite steeply, it is little help in gauging the exact place to turn until one is very close to it. The turn-in is quite sharp and the road narrows, going slightly right very quickly.

Thirdly, there is no lighting of any kind after dark. The bollard has no light inside it, and there are no street lights. This makes the whole manoeuvre very awkward, especially when there are other cars travelling quite fast, as they often are on that stretch of road. The contrast between these two entries into the road leading to Skipton is very marked. From the Ilkley side, there is a smooth, well-signed slip-road; from the other, a junction which can only be described as inadequately signed, completely unlit, and awkward to turn into. In short, dangerous.

I would ask that someone with the authority to make it safer will go and see what I mean on a dark wet night when it is at its worst to negotiate, and then rectify the lack of appropriate signpost and lighting.

Tessa Wilson,

Russell Street, Skipton.

Married penalty

SIR - Ordinary, married couples are being severely penalised by the constant erosion in the value of the married person's tax allowance.

The previous incumbent at Number 10, John Major, froze this tax allowance for three years and new Labour is set to reduce its value further.

Surely the stable, married, family unit is the driving force and hope for the future and backbone of our country.

Jean Harrison,

Conservative candidate,

Craven District Council,

Marton Road, Gargrave.

Long term

SIR - Your report that Settle's Victoria Hall Community Centre project could be in danger of losing out on major funding from the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (Craven Herald, April 3) is accurate in so far as it goes but it can give a false impression as to the reason.

It says that the project group has not yet formed itself into a formal body recognised by the Millennium Commission and that it must do this in order to take on the building from Craven District Council (which at present owns the Victoria Hall). It is not so simple as this.

Any body receiving a grant from the Trust for a project like this has to sign a maintenance contract.

It is only relatively recently that the project committee has learnt that this contract has to be for 125 years!

The trust is therefore prepared to make a grant only to a body likely to last for that length of time. A trust body consisting of mortal trustees, no matter how exalted, would not meet the criterion.

In practice, as we understand it, the Millennium Trust looks for the involvement of a local authority to ensure the required continuity, in our case Craven District Council.

Against this, Craven District Council wants to transfer the hall to some other "appropriate" body: indeed we are told that it would like to do so with the hall still in its present state, requiring major refurbishment after years of inadequate maintenance. What other body would be willing, even if able, to take on such a responsibility?

There is no easy solution, but the committee is in consultation with Craven Council and the Millennium Trust is actively trying to find one.

In the meantime the committee is continuing with its appeals for local financial support for the project: the more we can raise locally (we have already gratefully received donations or promises of more than £7,000 in addition to an initial £6,000 for a feasibility study), the easier it will be to obtain grants from other external funding sources.

Ian Smith,

Appeal treasurer,

Greenhead Lane, Settle.

Super service

SIR - Through the Herald we should like to show our appreciation of the doctor emergency services here in Skipton which we had to use on Easter Saturday evening.

We have a friend staying with us who needed a doctor quickly.

We telephoned 0870-6010131 and within 15 to 20 minutes the doctor was here and we had our minds put at rest. Thanks to everyone concerned for such a speedy service.

Mr and Mrs K Carr,

Otley Road, Skipton.

Relaunch

SIR - The Labour Government refuses to increase public expenditure when it is so obviously needed. At the same time it continues to rush heading towards monetary and financial union within Europe.

I do hope your readers will join the Referendum Movement (no longer a one issue party) which is being launched on Sunday at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds to help save our agriculture and fishing industries, never mind our jobs and living standards.

John Clark,

Northern Co-ordinator,

Referendum Movement,

Lumb Mill Farm,

Cross Hills.

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