“Barmy”? (Comment, August 13). While it is true that the solution put forward by the Policy Exchange think tank to the problem of the North-South divide is indeed “barmy” we actually have a local MP, Kali Mountford, who believes that there is no such thing. So is she not just as barmy?
There obviously is a North-South economic divide. If you live in Huddersfield you are almost certainly likely to die earlier, earn less and see your children have fewer chances of social mobility than those who live in the South-East.
And if people think that that is not the reality then simply look at the Examiner Jobs section on a Wednesday. There are very few jobs which make even the national average wage. The North is poorer.
The efforts of Yorkshire Forward (an unelected quango), local regeneration and “pride” organisations have had little real impact.
They are small scale, largely unco-ordinated and lack the kind of initiative and commitment which is necessary for putting together the infrastructure and planning required.
The Germans put the kind of investment necessary into regenerating an entire country, East Germany. New Labour is simply incapable of doing anything similar. It lacks a regional policy. Or if it has one it is to favour the South-East and the financial interests of the City of London.
Barmy yes. But so are those local leaders who pass plans for more shopping centres, smile and say progress is being made.
Stephen Dorril
Netherthong.
Figuring out the cost of living
COULD anyone out there explain to me in simple terms how the Government came up with a cost of living index increase of 4.4 % when everything seems to be going up in jumps of 30%, 12% and 25% etc.
I don’t see how we can be expected to believe the reports that the Government is “not quite achieving its targets”.
It always seems strange that my index-linked pension never quite matches my cost of living index. I am sure there must be many who are mystified by the way the cost of living index is calculated. I know that some items are not included in Government calculations, but I don’t have that privilege.
Les Nelson
Honley
Now about my travel pass . . .
I AM still quaking in my shoes having read the not inexpensive quarter-page advertisement in the Examiner by Metro threatening me that “even if your old (travel) permit has an expiry date after 30th September 2008 it will still not be accepted and you will have to pay full fare on bus or train”.
My current pass expires in October, 2011, so at 83 next I thought it had a good chance of it seeing my time out. And if it didn’t does it really matter whether a by now 86-year-old’s pass has expired?
Now there is obviously a good and sound reason (although it escapes me) why senior bus and train passes should have to be renewed at all; they’re not much use to anyone else.
Nevertheless, our rulers now insist that I have a new passport-type photograph taken, get a taxi to the nearest post office (if I can find one) or to the nearest travel centre, taking my old pass, my new photo, my birth certificate, my passport, a household bill and proof of citizenship or my driving licence.
I expect somebody will come up with the idea of renewing one’s death certificate once you’ve been dead and gone over a certain length of time.
I suppose it’s all finding somebody a job.
Austin Holroyd
Almondbury
Super collection service
I HAVE recently used the Kirklees garden refuse collection service. I had nine very large sacks. These were collected six days after phoning. I had the same prompt collection last year. In my experience this is a very valuable and efficient service.
R P Lee
Golcar
Life-saving thanks
A BIG thank you to the gentleman with the clipboard who was on The Avenue at Moldgreen on Monday and who alerted the fire service to a fire next to my property, which resulted in my son’s bedroom being badly damaged. Always in your debt.
Also thanks to the fire brigade for their quick response, which surely saved my son’s life. A big thank you also to the police for their kind care.
Mrs M Jenkins
Moldgreen
The trouble with Tesco . . .
DC asks in his letter on Monday whether there is something he has missed regarding the new Tesco store project. I will try and explain briefly why people are making so much fuss:
1. Its size. The new store will be two-and-a-half times the size of the old one, making it the biggest supermarket in Huddersfield by far. Customers may then be drawn away from the other supermarkets mentioned by DC and the former may have to shut. This will mean less choice for consumers in general.
2. The sales range. Tesco states in its brochure Investing in Huddersfield that the new store will offer a wider choice of goods than the old one. This means it may draw trade away from specialist town centre shops, especially if Tesco prices its goods keenly. You may argue that this is just normal commercial competition, but it could lead to more shops in the town centre closing down. The number of empty shops is already a matter of concern.
3. The location. The proposed site on Southgate is remote from the existing shopping centre and the railway station and bus station are long walks uphill. Consequently the vast majority of the new store’s customers will come by car, thus increasing congestion on the ring road and Leeds Road.
4. The quid pro quo. In exchange for taking over the present sports centre site Tesco have offered £26m to fund the building of a new sports centre. “How generous of them” you might say, but in my view there is a danger that Tesco could use this as a lever to get just what they want from Kirklees Council, along the lines of “If we don’t get exactly the size of store we want, in exactly the place we want it, with exactly the range of goods we want to sell, you won’t get your new sports centre!” I believe that this gives Tesco undue influence over the council’s regeneration programme.
5. The old Tesco site. Tesco will continue to own this site and redevelop it, so Tesco, not the council, will be reaping the rewards. Do you think it is right that Tesco should occupy so much land in Huddersfield? Is it really in the public interest?
That is the situation as I see it. Other people have further concerns; Barry Sheerman, for instance, is worried that the new store will be an eyesore (Examiner, April 29, 2008) and, more importantly, that Tesco and the council have been doing “secret deals”, something that Clrs Light and Sims have denied.
I must stress that I am not against Tesco per se; if Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrison’s or any other store chain were proposing the present scheme, I would still be against it. In my view it is too big, too much of a threat to town centre shops and in the wrong place.
William A. Kirby
Netherton
Parking problems
I WOULD like to reiterate the comments made by Mrs T Stagg (“Traffic hazard in Longwood” Mailbag August 9).
The parking on the corner of Ayton Road and Stoney Lane is diabolical. In particular, there are two vans which park so close to the corner, one on either side of the junction, that is impossible to see round them when turning left or right out of Ayton Road. In fact, on Sunday my husband and I had a near miss while trying to negotiate the corner. Luckily my husband was very quick to react and an accident was averted.
I admit I passed my driving test a few years ago, but I was under the impression that it was still illegal to park opposite or within 10 metres (32ft) of a junction except in an authorised parking space (Rule 243 Highway Code). This rule is clearly being ignored.
The police or even the road safety people (Ross) need to do something before there is a serious accident and somebody is maimed or worse.
I appreciate that a lot of the houses do not have garages or drives, but people should park with consideration to others.
Mrs Lesley Pearcey
Longwood
Soft punishment fears
MOST of your readers will be outraged if it proves to be the case that two young men did attack and rob a 91-year-old man (Examiner August 12) at a bus stop near Huddersfield Royal Infirmary. Will we be equally outraged by the law’s soft punishment if they are found guilty?
Garfi
