HOW much I concur with the Examiner’s editorial comment on September 30 regarding the need to encourage people back on to the radial rail network that used to serve Huddersfield and its environs.
It needs an act of vision on the part of the rail authorities and our national and local politicians to positively promote a revitalisation of a system that was so vandalised in the 1960s.
Despite the economic gloom that surrounds us let’s not get it wrong yet again by repeating the same mistakes of ill thought through policies that always seem to be the mainstay of our politicians who see little further than the next election.
So perhaps we should apply very careful thought to how we disburse that £560,000,000 that is to be invested in the Trans Pennine route.
The final solution should be both practical and pragmatic, leaving us with not just an electrified route from York to Manchester Airport but also well supported facilities for that important hub called Huddersfield.
This needs some lateral thinking on the part of politicians and desk-bound bureaucrats in order to make long term provision that will leave an infrastructure capable of development rather than yet another legacy of disaster that flowed from the limited thinking of our past strategists.
Disasters for instance such as the crass decision to tear up the four tracks that existed over a very long section of the Colne Valley that will now need costly replacement in order to provide the buffer arrangements for the proposed extra stopping trains.
A desirable development that seemingly might be included in the new plans providing commonsense prevails.
It is not so long ago (1962) that Marsden and Diggle stations were closed and destroyed, with Diggle still out of use.
Marsden’s Victorian station with its entrance foyer off the bridge and the covered staircase leading down to the platforms were, at that time, removed and tragically later replaced towards the end of the 20th century with the current frightening structure that has no architectural appeal and discourages passengers rather than attracting them.
So come on, let’s spend the money wisely and plan for the future in a sensible way that ensures a legacy for future generations rather than just satisfying the short term whims of largely ill-informed and highly, yet narrowly, educated politicians and bureaucrats.
Dr Richard Etheridge
Registered Chartered Engineer, Marsden
Joined up thinking
I WENT by train to the Brentford match at the weekend and had an excellent day. I had an hour in the splendid St Pancras Eurostar terminal, a trip into the future and a reason for my going by train.
However, I was brought down with a bump at Wakefield. The London train was delayed near Peterborough, a regular occurrence at this period, it seems.
We got to Wakefield a few minutes late to find the Huddersfield connection had been sent on its way, smack on time, two minutes before we arrived in the station.
Fortunately there was one more train that night, an hour later. The same thing almost happened to this last train – the London train was again late, we argued with the train controller and the fleet of foot managed to make it across the bridge.
We need to know railway policy with respect to these clearly defined connecting services.
Don Robinson
Mirfield
Responsible with dogs
PERHAPS Mr Whitworth (Mailbag, September 29) and the rest of the anti-dog brigade will not mind paying more council tax to provide responsible dog owners with certain areas within parks for dog walks only.
His suggestion is that nobody, responsible or irresponsible, should be allowed in parks with their four-legged friends.
All councils are there to serve the wider community. If this is the stance the council wishes to take then dog-only parks should be introduced.
After all, we all pay our council tax and responsible dog owners should not be excluded or discriminated against.
J Nuttal
Mount
It’s news to me
BARRY Fowler told us (Artistic nonsense, Mailbag, September 29) that he ‘... read that the Arts Council has given a grant of £500,000 for an artist to bring a large rock ... from Norway.’
He sees this as ‘further evidence that the country has gone mad.’
I think this gives us a great chance to have a serious discussion about two related matters.
First, how ‘news’ is made. Second, how our opinions on that ‘news’ can be made for us without our knowing it.
So, I invite Barry to tell us what he read and where he read it. It would be wrong of me to say any more until he’s done that.
I look forward to hearing from him.
R A Vant
Holmfirth
Difficult times
THE TV series Boys from the Black Stuff (Weekend Examiner, ‘Proof TV isn’t as good as it was’) haunted me like any other horror story.
I grew up during those Thatcherite years of mass unemployment, strikes, poll tax riots and perpetually negative news reports.
It certainly made me work harder in school, but with the additional threat of nuclear war with the USSR (something which seemed very real at the time), the future truly did seem dark.
You have to wonder what the youth of today feel their future is.
Environmental disasters, wars without end, the world economy (not just ours) spiralling out of control, the incredible cost of living, riots and terrorism must all weigh on their minds.
Anthony Redman
Dalton
An enterprising idea
ANOTHER pub closure, joining the Marsh House and the Bay Horse on just the one road.
But I take exception to the comment made by Enterprise Inns that The Junction wasn’t made a success!
This pub was run down nine years ago.
It has since been managed to the extreme to make sure that it was a place people wanted to go to.
I wish the management and staff all the very best – and Enterprise, look up the word Enterprise in the dictionary!
Andrew Ball
Milnsbridge
Waste of time
I WOULD like to advise the person who unloaded 10 black bin liners of garden waste on our drive last Wednesday afternoon that I have taken and disposed of it in the correct manner to Huddersfield Household Waste Centre.
We are not sure if it is private or business waste, but whichever way, our drive is not the place to leave one’s rubbish.
As you are obviously unaware of how it works – instead of driving your vehicle and emptying its contents at the end of my drive and preventing my return from work in broad daylight, the correct action would have been to drive to one of three Household Waste Centres in the area.
For your information they are located in Meltham HD9 4AP, Denby Dale Road WF2 7AH and Huddersfield HD1 6BY.
I have enough to do without disposing of your waste. Please do not do it again.
RJB
Honley
Well done to all
I WAS delighted to read about ‘Talented Thomas’ in last week’s Examiner!
My family and I went to see the Oscar’s Theatre Academy production of Les Misérables at St Paul’s Concert Hall and we were ‘blown away’ by the amazing talent of the young people involved; the solo performances were so moving, many of the audience were reaching for their tissues within minutes of the show starting and the whole cast chorus featured some of the best vocal harmonies I have heard in a long time. Thomas Cotran’s performance as Jean Valjean was equal to any I have seen in the West End and he truly deserves every success in his future career in Musical Theatre.
We felt privileged to be there, to be part of such a wonderful event. Congratulations to everyone involved!
Angela Glover
Huddersfield
Confusion over recycling
IT would be better if bins were emptied weekly, in my view.
Our bins are emptied every two weeks and there have been occasions when my bin has been put out for emptying, the wagon has been down the street and not emptied my bin, no reason given!
So I have to wait a further two weeks for them to empty my bin.
The same goes for the bottle box which is emptied monthly. I put my bottle box out last month and it wasn’t emptied, unlike all the others on our street.
I don’t know the reason for this as I have not upset the dustbin men and I have nothing personally against them.
I do find it all a bit confusing regarding recycling! In many communities in Kirklees it is common to see recycling areas with bottle banks.
There is a white one for clear glass, a brown one for brown bottles and green for green bottles.
In the bottle boxes Kirklees issue to households, brown, green, clear, glass bottles and jars all go into the boxes and when it’s collected it’s all tipped into the refuse truck together so what is the point of separating the different coloured glass bottles at the bottle banks?
It just doesn’t make any sense.
Alan Parkinson
Lower Cumberworth
