TESCO supermarkets have a lot to offer to the general public but the proposed location of this one in Holmfirth is flawed.

Tesco’s traffic consultants have reviewed the area but not seen the obvious. The vast majority of people travelling from Brockholes, Honley, Thurstonland, Stocksmoor, Farnley Tyas and beyond are very likely to turn right off the A616 to travel along Luke Lane to get to the proposed Tesco supermarket.

This road is tightly angled, steep in parts, narrow and for part of its length without pavements. Buses and lorries have to use extreme caution to pass each other. Quite often the road becomes blocked.

Narrow Woodlands Avenue off Luke Lane is already a ‘rat run’ apt to strand larger vehicles and create huge problems for delivery and waste collection vehicles.

A Tesco store would exacerbate congestion and safety problems at the Springwood Road junction, Heys Road, New Mill Road, Bill Lane and Robert Lane, several of which have school crossings.

Locals know to avoid this junction at peak times especially when turning right (towards the proposed Tesco site).

It is possible that the only safe way to manage traffic would be to install five way traffic lights with a potential backlog on all four roads.

There are many traffic problems in this area already, a situation that needs careful review at the present time. Access to the Tesco site can only make things significantly worse.

These rural roads are not compatible with a project of this size and are likely to become gridlocked at peak periods.

We urge all the people involved in considering this application to travel on the roads mentioned above both by foot and by car at any time of the day but especially at busy periods.

This will make the decision to reject the planning application an informed one based on safety and common sense.

Peter Allen

Thongsbridge

The real villains

EXAMINER columnist Barry Gibson made some good points in last Wednesday’s Examiner about the performance of Ed Miliband.

When inŠGovernment, Ed Miliband was in the Labour Cabinet and was, presumably, made aware that he had at leastŠpart responsibility for their failure to control the huge banking crisis, including the Royal Bank of Scotland’s colossal losses.

As a Conservative myself I do not like criticising my own leader but, when he was in opposition was he aware that, legally, an elected government could do nothing about the pay of the directors of the RBS?

David Cameron has no control over the pay and bonuses awarded by the 82% publicly owned bank. That is done by an independent body.ŠThis is designed to stop any Government exerting day to day control of RBS.

The spectacle of a PM and an opposition leader squabbling about who is holier than thou over bankers’ bonuses should alarm any outsider thinking of setting up business in the UK.

It will not do the country any good and filling up newspaper letter pages about how wicked some bosses are and how they should be cast into the pits of hell may strike a short term populist chord but, in the long run, merely gives the outside world a peep show perpetrating the traditional view that Britain is in the grip of a class war.

To be sure, the stable door has been bolted with the horses escaped. To make Fred Goodwin the scapegoat for the whole banking crisis is absurd and, after voluntarily taking a cut in his pension, may make the nation cheer. But will the markets be cheering with them?

Bernard McGuin

Marsh

Powerless to change

I READ with interest the piece on wind turbines, by Barry Gibson in Tuesday’s Examiner. One snippet of information I picked up on was that these turbines have a rated output of 10 kilowatts.

In my home I have one of those over the bath shower units where the water is heated electrically.

Shower units of this type draw nine kilowatts of electricity from the mains. To put this into context, under optimum weather conditions the maximum amount of ‘green energy’ that these turbines will produce is just enough to run one domestic shower.

When we have a government that preaches the free market, surely taking taxpayer/consumers’ money and using it to make unprofitable industries profitable, is tantamount to socialism or doesn’t count where the state pays benefits to private investors simply to improve profit margins.

ALLEN JENKINSON

Milnsbridge

Pavements and parks

AS a conscientious dog owner, I would like to make one or two observations about the present debate over Kirklees Council’s stated proposal to introduce dog control orders, featured (January 26) in an article under the heading ‘Welcome for Dog Controls’.

Mr Keith Lorriman is quoted as saying he counted five piles of dog mess in the space of 200 yards, when walking on Penistone Road, on the basis of which he declared himself in support of the plan.

However, it is clear from the context of the quotation from Mr Lorriman that the five piles of dog mess he saw were in Penistone Road, so were presumably on the pavement.

It is almost certainly the case, therefore, that the dogs in question were on leads at the time.

The intended ban on dogs in play areas, etc would therefore have no effect whatsoever in reducing the dog messes which Mr Lorriman encountered.

What is needed to resolve his complaint is closer enforcement of the existing rules against dogs fouling pavements.

This leads me to a further comment. The claim that there have been 42 complaints per week about dog fouling can be a completely misleading statistic.

In the context of this debate, the question is not the total number of complaints, but how many of those complaints relate to dog mess in play areas and public parks.

If the vast majority of those complaints relate to dog mess on pavements, etc (which they probably do), then the statistic actually shows that the real problem is with dogs on the lead and not with dogs off the lead.

Responsible dog owners not only clear up after their animals but also take pleasure in seeing them enjoy themselves with a good run off the lead.

This whole thing looks like a money-raising exercise to me.

By all means, control unruly dogs and by all means crack down on owners who do not deal with their dog’s mess, but a blanket ban of dogs off the lead in accessible open spaces seems to me to be unnecessary and unjustified.

ANGELA HOWE

Edgerton

More bins wanted

I WALK my dog in numerous places around Salendine Nook, Mount and Longwood Edge and I have to say there is only one bin in the whole area!

Do you want me to put my dog’s muck in my pocket for an hour or so? I don’t think you would want to, would you?

Sort some more bins/dog bins out if you want people to pick up after their dog.

Thomas Hennings

Salendine Nook

Mucky disease

FURTHER to Jeff Carr’s letter, published here on January 30, a child did recently contract a serious toxocariasis eye infection through contact with dog muck in Platt Fields park, Manchester.

This was reported in the press on the August 18 and 19, 2010.

Full details are available on Google Search.

Stephen Priest

Huddersfield

Heart of English history

I WAS dismayed to read the Examiner article about Kirklees Council’s proposed cutbacks to our museum services, in particular the Red House Museum, Gomersal.

Surely, it is the council’s responsibility as custodians of our heritage to maintain and preserve all the district’s treasures for the enjoyment of us all and to keep the museum doors open!

The Red House Museum is a gem in its own right with its delightful period rooms and enchanting award-winning 19th century gardens it deserves preservation.

But the house has a far greater importance.

Its connections with Charlotte Bronte and her classic description of the house and the area in her novel Shirley, place it at the heart of English literary history.

For oversees devotees of English literature the Red House is a must-see part of the Bronte trail. I speak from the experience of being a teacher who has accompanied hundreds of foreign students around the house over the years.

The council’s proposed cutbacks demonstrate the same short-sighted policy and lack of respect for our heritage that destroyed Huddersfield’s architectural character in the 1960s.

The bicentenary of the Luddite rising, on which the story of Shirley is based, is an ideal opportunity to advertise this unique asset and attract more visitors, instead of putting its future in doubt.

Pamela Brooke

Honley

Help for Tinnitus

AS we enter Tinnitus Awareness Week, I should like to urge any of your readers who suffer from this distressing condition not to suffer in silence.

Recent high profile reports of suicides by tinnitus sufferers show just how serious tinnitus can be but Deafness Research UK wants to assure people they are not alone. We are here offer help and support.

The charity continues to fund research into better treatments, with the ultimate aim of a cure.

Our new leaflet ‘Managing Tinnitus’ is free and available directly from our website at deafnessresearch.org.uk, by emailing info@deafnessresearch.org.uk or by calling our freephone helpline on 0808 808 2222.

Vivienne Michael

Chief Executive, Deafness Research UK