Watchdogs vow to remain alert

You are absolutely correct when you state that a "determined group of people" exists in Craven.

However you have been mistaken when you state that this same group of people are "hell bent on thwarting any progress" on Skipton town centre redevelopments.

In November 2003 this "determined group of people" came together to act as an independent watchdog over the proposed redevelopments as proposed by Craven District Council.

We had become suspicious of this council's proposed plan for the town, about the way it was being promoted and the way it was being handled.

Two years later our suspicions were fully vindicated following an independent referendum of the Skipton electorate organised by the (non political) Electoral Reform Society and commissioned by the Civic Society. That referendum elicited a response nearly ten times greater than the council's own public questionnaire, and gave a resounding 'no' to the council's proposals.

Following the announcement of the referendum result, the leader of the council stated in your newspaper that "democracy is certainly alive and kicking in Craven".

He will therefore not be surprised to learn that we haven't retired and will be continuing to work together as a "determined group" to ensure that Craven District Council listens to its electorate and not pretends to do so.

We can assure you and all your readers that we are absolutely not "hell bent on thwarting any progress". But we firmly believe that true progress can only be achieved if it has the support of the electorate, following straight facts presented in a straight manner. We look forward to this happening in 2006.

Mark Verity,

Chairman, Skipton Alliance,

Raikes Road, Skipton.

SIR - So, yet again, North Yorkshire police authority wants more of our money!

Unsurprisingly they have voted to spend hundreds of millions (of our money of course!) in an amalgamation with other forces, an amalgamation which is of course totally unnecessary.

Blithely trotting out such homilies as "Amalgamation is essential to deal with anti terrorist measures and serious crime" is insulting to the public, and beggars belief.

If amalgamation were indeed necessary, or even any use whatsoever, then we would be busy combining all British regiments into one, when for hundreds of years we have managed with several regiments, combining them as needed to fight world wars. But perhaps the police authority imagines something larger than a world war?

This police authority has already trebled our precept in a few short years, along with doubling its own expenses, and is an unelected quango chaired by a lady with around nine other jobs including company directorships and membership of Scarborough borough council (a council which is becoming infamous for the way in which it handles public money).

It is no surprise that West Yorkshire's chief constable does not want amalgamation with the financial pit which NYPA represent, neither is it any surprise that the North Yorkshire authority does want it; it already stands rebuked by the district auditor for its finances, and has a track record of telling us that such "small" increases as 45 and 76 per cent are reasonable.

The question remains, do we, the people who pay for it, really want to pay several hundreds of millions of pounds more for what is widely expected to be an inferior service?

More to the point - will we even be asked?

Alan Perrow

Chairman,

Craven Ratepayers' Action Group

Bannister Walk, Cowling

SIR - Once again may I convey a sincere thank you to all who kindly contributed to the collection bucket on behalf of Candlelighters fighting children's cancer and leukaemia at St James Hospital, which I wielded around local pubs and hostelries during Christmas.

Although I did not find as much spare time as I would have liked on "Builders' Friday" and Christmas Eve, the revellers in the premises where I did manage time to visit nonetheless weighed in with another fantastic amount of £1,1820.

Thank you to all the respective "mine hosts" and hotel managements for allowing me on to their premises and indeed for their own personal contributions.

The countless offers of food and drink - from both management and revellers alike - typified the wonderful Christmas spirit which prevailed.

As mentioned in previous acknowledgements, details of all donations and how the money is actually being spent in research, technology, treatment and remedial care are itemised in the Candlelighters quarterly newsletter (of which I have back copies) and are always available from St James.

While regrettably accepting that some youngsters are most unfortunate, the newsletter also features young people who have made it through and are performing some great things in the big, wide world.

One such person, from Skipton, also took the opportunity for the first time in her life to mix in with the revellers on Christmas Eve. Without the kind of wonderful support which I acknowledge in this letter, such a privilege, which most of us take for granted, might never have happened.

Thanks once again - and a happy New Year to everyone.

Roger Ingham

Aldersley Avenue, Skipton.

SIR - May I express my thanks to all who supported the Cards For Good Causes charity Christmas card shop which this year traded in Craven Court. We were so successful that we closed three days early because supplies of stock were exhausted.

So, a big thank you to all the volunteers who gave their time each week, the centre manager and security guards in Craven Court who made us feel so welcome and, of course, all those who sought us out to buy their Christmas cards.

Mavis Metcalfe,

Skipton manager,

Cards for Good Causes group.

SIR - Following an extremely noisy New Year's Eve which involved the letting off of fireworks from midnight to 12.45am on January 1, I think it is high time that fireworks are banned other than on Bonfire Night only.

During the New Year's Day fireworks, my family was up comforting two very distressed, quite elderly dogs who did not settle down until 1.30am and friends of mine have told me similar stories involving their pets.

As for the disturbance of elderly folk, babies, and young children, cattle and sheep (who are very close to lambing) heaven only knows what they endure, not to mention local wildlife as I heard squawking and chirruping in a nearby tree where birds regularly roost when I went outside to investigate the din.

If people are so selfish as to act in this way, then it's high time restrictions on the use of fireworks are introduced as common courtesy and consideration obviously don't enter these people's minds.

Firework displays should be held away from residential areas and restricted to sites organised by the local council.

J Canaway,

Giggleswick

SIR - This year sees the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident in the Ukraine.

Over the years thousands of children from the areas affected by the fallout from the accident have had holidays in homes around the world. Many of the children have suffered ill health, whilst others have been in families where members have required special care. As a result of these visits the children and their families have benefited both in terms of their health and their general well-being.

At the same time the people here who have hosted children have enjoyed a holiday at home and had the pleasure of giving happiness and hope to many families.

A group of children from Belarus, to the north of Chernobyl, will again be coming to this area during the summer. If anyone would like to host two children for about a fortnight please get in touch with me, Robert Hodgson, the local group secretary, tel 01943 839857 or visit www.chernobyl-children.

org.uk for further information.

Robert Hodgson,

Moor Lane,

Addingham.