AT LAST! A reasoned letter from a reader not opposed to wind turbines in principle but on the practical grounds that they should be appropriately sited with regard to local communities (Examiner February 22).
As for those who point an accusing finger at the turbines on the Civic Centre, using their poor performance and excessive cost to decry the technology in general, I would be pleased to show them identical machines producing Šsix times more power at a fraction of their cost.
I believe that the council might be investigating re-siting them.
Another objection often raised as to the utility of wind turbines is that “the wind bloweth where it listeth” and that the power they produce is intermittent.ThisŠis true but unimaginative.
The free, clean energy they produce can be of benefit in many ways.
The electricity produced thus can be used as at the pumped storage facility Šat Dinorwic in Wales, to make hydrogen for a new generation of fuel cell powered transport, to be stored for long periods in thermal stores as heat in phase- change materials or even in batteries as new materials such as graphene substantially improve their performance.
There are an increasing number of jobs and opportunities in the renewable energy sector and I believe that David Brown Gears now has some work on turbine gearboxes where their expertise is much needed.
I agree with Councillor Cooper that we should harvest and garner every bit of innocent energy that is a gift to us from nature rather than abusing the finite and toxic resources we wrest from her bosom.
What sensible person wants to rely on President Putin or Colonel Gadaffi for their next cooked meal? Š
John Berryman
Slaithwaite
Doorstep views
WHILE campaigning for the Conservatives in the Newsome ward, I met a lot of disgruntled electors.
To my great relief their disharmony was more with Kirklees Council rather than the national government.
The Local Development Framework has caused consternation, particularly in areas with green field land nearby.
To give an example of this, a constituent in the New Laithe Hill area told me he had been refused permission to extend his property owing to concerns over traffic problems.
He was astounded to find the LDFŠwould allowŠ a massive housing complex on nearby land, owned by Kirklees, which is framed by New Laithe, Ashes Lane and High Lane.
This is one example of the frustration caused by the so called consultation process.
One can only assume that the local Labour party is on a kamikaze mission. I, for one, hope they succeed.
Bernard McGuin
Marsh
A nation imprisoned
I WOULD declare England to be a prison and the jailors in this prison are the judges and politicians and the bolts and bars of this prison are the statutes of anti trade union legislation devised by Thatcher and preserved by Blair, that have kept the people of this country in bondage for so long.
In this prison the employers and government can do what they like and ordinary people have little recourse to defend themselves.
Oh yes there are those who in harkening back to the 1970s would warn of the country being held to ransom by trade union leaders.
Would they rather the country be held to ransom by bankers, financiers and a cabal of public school millionaires masquerading as a government, as is the case today?
The tragedy of redundancy and wage cuts are a daily occurrence. The rights of people in the workplace are being trampled by managers increasingly more focused on budgets and targets than either the welfare of employees or ‘customer’ service.
The damage of this is colossal; relationship breakdown, homelessness and mental illness are the inevitable outcomes as a trickle of misery is becoming a deluge and through no fault of the individuals concerned but every fault of the failed policies of successive governments and a rapacious financial system.
Now many public sector unions are on the verge of battle to prevent further plundering of our pensions and it will be a battle that will be fought not just for public sector workers but to defend everyone who is reeling from government attacks.
Ian Brooke
Save Our Services
Standing firm
THE PRICE that Huddersfield will eventually pay for the proposed new Tesco development will be too high.
This development is not just about the town getting a new sports centre. What we should be looking at is what we shall lose.
Small retail businesses will go out of business as they will not be able to compete with this new store on a very uneven playing field.
People’s livelihoods are at stake. Are we too selfish to give them a thought? Put yourself in their position. Once again there is a lack of information regarding the lost parking facilities that Springwood provides the town centre both for shoppers and the people who work there.
Our council also seems to think that the bowlers of Huddersfield are not worthy of a placement in the new centre.
Have the council forgotten that the slogan is Sport for All?
As for dealing with Tesco delegates, what is the problem? They hold no cards whatsoever.
Get some backbone. Tell them the deal is dead and spend some money on the sports centre which we already have.
R J Bray
Shelley
Back Milnsbridge
THE piece in yesterday’s Examiner on the centre of Milnsbridge makes depressing reading.
The latest closure, of Barclays bank, only continues a long established trend of small bank branch closures in local centres.
It is nothing short of disgraceful, especially given the obscene level of bank profits and bonuses.
I wonder how many viable local businesses have sought loans from Barclays and other banks, and have been turned down?
Clearly the likes of Barclays have decided that they have no role or responsibility to regenerate communities like Milnsbridge.
Milnsbridge could, and should be a thriving local centre given the scale of new residential development close to the centre and towards Longwood and the still substantial business community.
It is handicapped by the volume of traffic which funnels through the centre across the single river crossing, and the lack of easily accessible parking close to the shops.
This is a much needed facility which could be facilitated by a council bold enough to spot the right opportunity and acquire land using compulsory purchase powers if necessary.
Milnsbridge would also benefit from a railway station which would provide a real alternative to car travel and might help attract more people to live in empty apartments.
Barry Sheerman MP should dismount from his current hobby horse, the high-speed rail link HS2, and instead campaign for improvements to the local and regional rail network, including a station for Milnsbridge.
Bill Hunter
Honley
Peaceful protest
TO READ the Examiner Mailbag anyone would think Kirklees councillors are a bunch of unreconstructed Thatcherites determined to slash services at the merest whim.
That isn’t the case, and many of the councillors who voted for the council budget have devoted a lifetime to helping some of Kirklees’ most deprived communities.
To get agreement of most parties on a budget which, whilst swingeing, protects many front-line services, is a sign of political maturity we don’t often see.
The cuts in social care give nobody any pleasure and should be restored at the earliest opportunity.
Yet the alternative offered by Kirklees Save our Services boils down to a return to the Thatcher years of the 1980s, when left-controlled councils tried to take on the Government. Inevitably, they failed and the people who suffered were the most vulnerable.
This approach may play well in the Socialist Worker but is miles away from the real world of politics.
Taking on the Government by refusing to implement cuts is suicidal; a battle that no council can win.
Kirklees SOS should direct its justifiable anger at the cuts towards the real culprit – the Conservative-led Coalition.
The one thing I agree on in June Jones’ letter (Examiner, February 25) is the importance of supporting the TUC’s demonstration in London on March 26.
A huge show of peaceful opposition to the Government will lay the basis for a popular movement which will, sooner or later, bring them down.
And that can’t be a moment too soon.
Dr Paul Salveson MBE
Slaithwaite
Sign of the times?
It’s unfortunate that Kirklees Council slipped up over the new signs in St George’s Square (Examiner, March 9).
But isn’t it extraordinary that an elected local authority needs permission from Whitehall to makeŠ the parking rules in Huddersfield?Š
ŠDavid Griffiths
Edgerton
Profit danger
INTERESTING to see that some consider profit more important than the fact that cigarettes can kill you.
Allen Jenkinson
Milnsbridge
Making the grade
FOUR out of 10 schools are failing to make a good grade, says your report ( March 10), and 37% are only satisfactory.
Do statistics also show the number of pupils who have never read books outside school, parental attitudes, and also the track record of inspectors in the days when they were coaching pupils?
Garfi
