HOW many two-bedroomed homes could be built in Kirklees if the spending of £87,500 per apartment at Richmond Flats was transferred to new-build projects?

There are now hundreds of rental properties along with council-owned houses standing empty in Kirklees.

Notwithstanding, Kirklees proposes another 22,470 homes to be built by 2028 under the Local Development Framework.

And there’s a proposal to increase Council Tax due on empty homes, an ill-devised and illogical attempt to stimulate the housing market.

Coupled with this is the savage cut in Local Housing Allowance from April 2011, rendering it well nigh impossible for most residents and landlords to afford and maintain cheaper properties.

The residents who currently occupy Richmond Flats homes will most certainly not be able to afford them now the LHA has been slashed.

A very large supermarket is about to be built close by so this may be the reason for the sudden interest after many years of total neglect!

I’m not happy seeing my hard-earned money taken away in Council Tax and spent on such extravagances.

I see this as yet another nail in the coffin of this ridiculously out of touch council. We need a change, and the May 3 elections are our opportunity.

Alan Knight B A (Hons)

Kirklees Private Landlords Association

Kingsgate ‘wrecking’ plan

EVEN if there is justification for a Kingsgate 2, why does it have to impact on the original splendour of the town?

I recall the original plans for Kingsgate 2. They did not include the destruction of half of Cross Church Street or elements of Kirkgate or the facade of the Palace Theatre – so where has this new more damaging plan come from?

Hasn’t this town lost enough of the original architecture that made this town what it is? The charm of Huddersfield is that it is predominantly a Georgian and Victorian town whose later developments of the 1920s and 1930s added much to its splendour.

Any development should be in sympathy with this heritage as opposed to standing out like a sore thumb like the Packhorse Centre or Queensgate Market.

Have the politicians not learned the lessons of the late 1960s when it comes to urban planning? Apparently not. Indeed, this plan is not about attracting business because the plans include destroying the Parish pub which is not only of architectural merit but is also a thriving concern.

This scheme will not rejuvenate the town but only fill the coffers of out-of-town contractors, architects and developers to the detriment of high street shops and small retailers.

Clr Mehboob Khan himself is not in a position to brag about the number of jobs that Kingsgate 2 will bring when over the next few years the council will be shedding jobs hand over fist. The relatively well paid council jobs will be replaced by low paid private sector jobs in a retail sector which cannot be guaranteed to fill these new shops in the long term.

We are constantly told that Huddersfield needs to compete either with Leeds or Manchester or the White Rose Centre. The logic of such propaganda is that the town should be levelled and like every other town should become a huge Meadowhall, a soulless, lifeless temple to consumerism.

This is the false message used by contractors in the private sector to get their hands on the contracts for building such monstrosities.

Even if there is a need for Kingsgate 2 it should not be allowed to damage the architecture or character of our town and the townspeople should be fully involved in its planning.

Ian Brooke

Springwood

Empty coffers

ACCORDING to R A Vant (Mailbag, March 21), his precious Labour party can do no wrong and has done no wrong while in power. This is an opinion totally out of kilter with most others’.

Labour bankrupted our country. When Labour took power they had a very healthy monetary base from which to work so they went on a spending spree. For whatever reason they proceeded to flood the country with immigrants using an open door policy. These heinous acts were added to with almost total capitulation to any EU directive.

After all those wasted years under Labour the electorate saw fit to oust the spend, spend, spend party. Trouble was, Labour left the cupboard bare.

Whoever followed Labour was going to take a bit of a beating as they tried to get the country back on its feet.

This was going to be unsavoury to the public. There was no choice. We could have kept on the Labour path of spending and ended up as Greece but with no-one to bail our country out.

Mr Vant at least did get one thing correct in his letter to Mailbag when he stated that the Conservatives were screaming ‘It’s all Brown’s fault’, because, as we all know, it was Blair and Brown at fault for our country’s demise.

Please let us hope and pray that it is some time before they once again get hold of the country’s purse strings. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is all very well if Peter has some money. Under Labour Peter was becoming poorer and more disillusioned.

R J Bray

Shelley

Facing up to problems

ROB Vant is quite forward in asking fellow correspondents questions, so here is one for him.

If the Conservatives left the country in a mess in 1997, as he claims, why did the Labour Party pledge to keep the Tories’ spending plans intact for its first few years of government?

As he well knows the Tories left a golden legacy and the Labour party, having courted the middle classes and big business to massive effect, were keen not to be seen to be raising public spending and taxes too quickly.

As soon as that pledge ran out they let rip a massive splurge of spending based on massive borrowing. They squandered the years of growth left by the Tories.

As long as the economy was growing then the bills could be paid. They claimed to have abolished boom and bust. Those of us on the right despaired at a Tory party that seemed to have lost its soul in a bidding war about how big government spending should be. Hence the Tories’ pledge to match Labour’s spending plans until 2010/11.

Both parties have at times been guilty of telling the electorate the truth about our sovereign debt crisis. I joined the Conservative party when they realised that a time had come when the problem had to be faced up to.

Although some of the policies at this time do make me grimace – such as the cut in the 50p rate of tax – I believe that fundamentally they are the only party who can be trusted to make Britain healthy economically.

Bernard McGuin

Marsh

A rubbish attitude

I WAS walking with an organised group along Kilner Bank following the route of the stream.

It was a beautiful day and I was looking forward to the walk.

However, the walk was spoiled by the amount of rubbish discarded along the route. I don’t think I have ever seen such an amount of rubbish.

I know that groups have cleared this area of rubbish time and time again and it becomes very disheartening.

For all those of you who throw rubbish down the bank, please think of the environment where you live and try to improve the beauty of the area instead of destroying it. This would be much better for all of us.

Huddersfield does not have many green spaces so please do not spoil the areas that other people would like to enjoy.

Mrs M Brown

Huddersfield

Community work

TWELVE months have passed since my election as a Colne Valley ward councillor and also becoming chair of the Colne Valley area committee, a public meeting welcoming residents to attend and get involved in local decisions.

I would very much like to express my sincere gratitude to all who have shown me support and offered advice and words of encouragement. That has been greatly appreciated at all times.

Working for and on behalf of our local communities has been a wonderfully worthwhile and enjoyable experience.

Clr Donna Bellamy

Colne Valley

Help for the fighters

THIS spring marks the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War. As we remember the bravery of all those who fought in the Falklands, we should also remember that the scars of war can be both physical and mental and often remain long after a conflict is over.

Last year alone the West Yorkshire branch of the military charity SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association) Forces Help assisted 599 members of the forces community, including veterans of all ages.

The SSAFA Forces Help West Yorkshire branch is here to provide practical, emotional or financial support. We also always need more volunteers to help.

If you can spare some time, those we are able to assist will appreciate it. Phone 0113 244 9254 or email terrence.grayshon@btinternet.com

Terry Grayshon

County Chairman, SSAFA Forces Help