Commonsense still needed

10:19am Thursday 20th December 2007

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SIR, - As we approach the end of 2007, it is timely to remember a certain sequence of events.

On February 9, 2007, a unanimous decision was taken by Leeds City Council Executive Board to install fencing in Wharfemeadows Park. On February 21, Councillors Andrew Carter and John Procter, both Executive Board members, informed the full city council meeting that the fencing had to be installed because of recommendations by a coroner and RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention Of Accidents).

On February 23 WAG was formed and in less than a week had discovered that this decision was a seriously flawed one. The coroner had not made such recommendations and RoSPA's report was based on a legal ruling that had been overturned by the House of Lords in 2003.

On March 8, WAG wrote to Leeds City Council requesting the issue be fully investigated. After many bureaucratic delays and battles, WAG was eventually allowed to submit its formal request for scrutiny in July.

Eight months on and after many more administrative battles, the legal advice from the QC instructed by the city council in March has been reluctantly released.

WAG has had copies of this important document printed and has made it available for people to read at many of the places where petition signatures were collected e.g. pubs, cafes and shops in Otley town centre. A copy is also on our website: www.wharfemeadowsactiongroup.org There is no mention in this legal advice of a fence or the need to fence off the river. There is however much mention of RoSPA's flawed report and the misquoting of the Roundhay Park coroner who did not recommend fencing off the river in Otley.

Having said that, the advice is not impartial or independent' as it does not want to recognise WAG or the people that have supported our campaign.

Your readers can rest assured that the campaign will continue through into 2008. The official LCC Scrutiny Board report into this matter will be published in January. WAG will only then be able to decide whether formal complaints will be registered about RoSPA or Leeds City Council or both.

Thank you, the Wharfedale Observer, for giving the campaign such excellent and accurate coverage over the past year. Let's hope that this time next year commonsense will have prevailed and we can all enjoy newly restored views over our much-loved riverside parks.

Linda Lukats, Sylvia Reid and Tony Hartigan - Wharfemeadows Action Group, c/o The Courthouse, Courthouse Street, Otley.

Rubbish eyesores

SIR, - In response to to your issue of December 13 and the previous week's report about rubbish left outside Silk Sisters in Otley, why don't Leeds City Council target their own eyesores first?

I have regularly walked to the recycling centre on Cattlemarket Street with my empty cans and whichever day of the week I go the collection containers are full and overflowing - not a pretty sight.

Should I get my car out and take them to Ellar Ghyll, leave them on the floor in Cattlemarket Street or take them back home and put them in the dustbin (we don't have any kind of recycling collections on my street)?

None of these solutions are environmentally friendly.

Linda Massarella - Otley (full address supplied)

Health appeal

SIR, - I am writing to wish all your readers a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. This can be the time of year when healthy good intentions fall by the wayside, as of course we all want to enjoy ourselves over the festive period.

But it's important to realise that making healthy choices and enjoying Christmas can go hand-in-hand. If you want inspiration, check out the Christmas advice on our website at www.wcrf-uk.org And it's worth remembering that some healthy options can actually be a lot of fun. For example, every time you dance to Slade this year you'll be counting towards the daily hour of physical activity that we recommend people do. Now that's got to be worth celebrating!

Lucie Galice - General Manager, World Cancer Research Fund.

Decorations poor

SIR, - I have been visiting the area from abroad during the second week in December and was shocked by the Christmas decorations in Otley - or should I say lack of decorations.

I am sure if more money was spent on these then more people would come and visit and spend money in the town (the shops at least made an effort) but why can't the council?

I also visited Wetherby and you realise Christmas had arrived there!! If the Council are spending the money in a more worthy cause I understand - but surely ALL the council members cannot be called Scrooge. I live outside two villages and ALL the streets are decorated - not just the main roads.

Hazel Layt - Sent by e-mail

Red footprints

SIR, - With regard to your report of the red footprints in last week's edition, I cannot believe that anyone would complain about a children's safety feature that is effectively invisible unless you walk with your head down or are a child - the person the footprints were intended to attract.

The key words here are children's safety! Westgate Primary School is a credit to Otley.

The children they turn out are lovely polite individuals who take a pride in being part of the community. Mrs Bignell is often faced with petty individuals who challenge her every move but she continues to fight for the safety and well being of the children of Westgate Primary School, How can anyone object?! It appears to me that only Stephanie Luxton objects to the footprints - no other residents have actually come forward to speak out. The crossing was first promised to Westgate School almost 30 years ago and I feel sure that Leeds City Council followed the correct procedures when they installed it.

Successive local councillors have promised to get it installed and not done so. It was Kevin Cooney who actually got the job done in the end.

Stephanie Luxton said that she felt it was her Christian duty to make this complaint - it strikes me that she is a poor Christian and thinks little of children's safety!

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED

ID cards fairytale'

SIR, - A letter from Government Minister Meg Hillier - saying that calls for the National Identity Scheme to be halted are misguided -spins but ignores some inconvenient facts. Far from just core information', state officials will have the most detailed picture of your private life, including your use of banking, commercial and public services.

Their proposed 'National Identity Register' (NIR) database will store details of every time your ID is checked.

Biometrics won't guarantee their security. Just last week, a group of security experts described Government claims about the technology as a fairytale view'. And the idea that ID cards can prevent illegal immigration is absurd. They don't on the Continent.

By making unrealistic claims for ID cards, the Government will again fail to deliver on some real problems, such as benefit fraud. It can only make things worse - a hugely invasive database combined with widespread data-sharing will compromise everyone's privacy, and vastly worsen the risk of identity fraud.

Phil Booth - National Coordinator, NO2ID, Box 412, 19-21 Crawford Street,London W1H 1PJ.