Today's most viewed
| BEHIND THE NEWS |  | | | READERS' LETTERS | | | CARTOONS | | |
|
|
|
MP is 'doing what he should be doing'
SIR. - With reference to the recently published letter entitled Campaign Wrong'. My first reaction was to note how cowardly of the author not to show their name and address and to speculate why this might be (who could they be working for/related to?).
Now as a member of the SOS Otley campaign, let me pick this load of rants to bits.
I am not party political, having scant regard for most politicians, but Mr Mulholland has shown himself to be very active in support of local issues. He is often around in the locality and, although there are many demands on his time, he is contactable at Parliament or his local office.
He actually gets up and does something for Otley, which is what a real local MP should do. So I and many others don't wonder where he is devoting his time and resources' to quote the letter. It's pretty obvious if you're in frequent contact with his office, as SOS Otley is.
Next the rather hysterical mention of obesity and alcoholism being the two major threats to the health of our nation'.
How does reopening a pub that was a friendly place for east of Otley residents to socialise, a venue for live music (many of the musicians being local), a place for barbecues and birthday parties, etc, equate with alcoholism and obesity?
I and others I know have been visiting pubs for many years and are neither alcoholics nor obese, there is a happy medium.
The mention of much needed housing' is debatable. I see that the affordable' homes built on the site of the old laundry are not all taken. Surely if people were that desperate they would have been snapped up?
The proposed homes will be four bedroom and not within the range of most first-time buyers.
The Summercross was, when open, the only pub serving the east of Otley. There may well be a lot of public houses in the centre of town but there are only a few with pleasant atmospheres serving real ale. Not all people wish to frequent them, especially if they're not obese alcoholics.
As for re-opening the Summercross encouraging the rowdy anti-social street drinkers to move out of town. Not a strong case. I can't see a bunch of drunken youths being bothered to stagger the distance. There have never been any anti-social behaviour problems around the pub and as a residential community we simply wouldn't allow it.
There are more problems in town centres because these are non-residential areas.
The writer states that "it is incomprehensible to believe that anyone would willingly close a successful business venture that provides a return on investment".
SOS Otley has proof that the Summercross was and can be a viable business. In just 18 months the landlord had re-built the business to a point where the pub was making a profit. The reason it was closed was calculated greed.
Close it down, let it go to ruin, make it as unattractive as possible as a pub then make lots of profit by cramming as many houses in as possible or sell it on to another developer' and to hell with the physical and social impact on the community.
Mrs S Lewis - Danefield Terrace, Otley.
Praise for pub
SIR, - I would like to respond to the writer of the letter who condemns the actions of those objecting to the closure of the Summercross public house in Otley.
I am neither an alcoholic nor obese but a person who has enjoyed the Summercross pub, particulary under the most recent landlord and landlady.
The pub was well run and offered me a safe welcomimg place to have a drink as a woman on her own. I could take a book or newspaper or watch football on the big screen and felt comfortable on my own.
The beer garden was a place where I could take my daughter in Summer and it really felt like a family pub unlike some of the pubs in Otley which are not geared to children.
Otley is under attack by property developers who would like to fill any available space with unaffordable housing. I am very pleased to have the backing of my MP and the local town council in the objections to the demolition of this public house.
Alison Evans - 4 Side Copse, Otley.
Impressed by MP
SIR, -I read with interest the letter Campaign Wrong sent in under Name and address supplied'.
I would be interested to know the identity of the writer.
Obviously, by their attack on Greg Mulholland, not a Lib Dem supporter. Given the way the Parliamentary system works in England I would say that 67 per cent is a good voting record.
When I vote, it is for an MP who will represent my interests locally and nationally. As a long standing socialist I must say that I have been impressed by Greg Mulholland's willingness to support local issues.
I fail to see why the writer made reference to obesity. Does obesity have any relevance to building houses? If, as the writer claims, the Summercross was underused then alcoholism can't be an issue.
It is true that the centre of Otley is well served with public houses but the Summercross is not in the centre and is more than half-a-mile from the centre. The writer's claim that it is less than half a mile seems to indicate that he/she is not a walker and does not visit the area.
The claim that it is incomprehensible to believe that anyone would willingly close a successful business venture that provides a return on investment' is simply naïve.
The Save Our Summercross campaign can prove that the pub was viable, making a profit and that the business was growing.
The current value of land is such that any developer can buy land, close down existing businesses, build houses and make a very fat profit. The developer proposes to cram 14, four-bedroomed houses and a garage block on the site. It does not take much imagination to work out that the profit from the sale of 14 large houses will exceed the value of the pub.
I feel that the writer's claim that re-opening the Summercross will encourage rowdy behaviour and street drinking is wholly disingenuous. I have lived in the area for 15 years and bad behaviour has never been a problem.
The case for building 14 large houses and garages on the site is driven by greed and shows no respect for the people who live in the area.
John Buck - Danefield Terrace, Otley.
No sense in bridge work
SIR, - Having been caught napping by Otley's river fencing issue and by the proposed redevelopment of the Bridge Auction Mart, it seems that Coun Kirkland has decided to pre-empt any discussion on Otley Bridge.
His comments betray a complete lack of appreciation for the salient issues, in contrast to CORC, WAG and SOOR.
Once again these pressure groups have shown themselves to be more in touch with local issues than our elected representatives. Why does Coun Kirkland wish to widen the bridge when the Bridge Street and Billams Hill approaches are just as narrow?
The present situation provides a very effective separation between vehicles and pedestrians. To put these together on a widened bridge makes no sense at all.
Fred Whyte's letter setting out the need for a new bridge upstream and associated link roads seems eminently feasible, except for the availability of finance. In the meantime what is needed at Otley Bridge is a repaired or new pedestrian footbridge.
This would avoid a costly rebuilding of Otley Bridge that would only enable it to take bigger and heavier lorries. It is high time Otley had councillors who were up with the issues, were prepared to listen and could act assuredly.
Jonathan Smith - Glenthorne, Burras Lane, Otley.
Cash confusion
SIR, - I am totally confused by the financing of public works. There is money available for fencing off part of the river bank, because there might be an accident.
There is money available to widen the bridge, because there might be an accident.
No money is available for dealing with the problem of the Maple Grange Bends where there have been several accidents. Many of these have been fatal.
Gordon Bradley - 15 Kineholme Drive, Otley.
Leave bridge alone
SIR, - Further to your front page article regarding Otley Bridge (March 6), I think the bridge (which happens to be one of the strongest in the country) should be left well alone except for the removal of the pedestrian cantilever walkway.
Improving vehicle access will increase speeds over the bridge and further complicate vehicle movements from Farnley Lane as well as give further license for quarry traffic to use this route from North Yorkshire.
Leaving cost restraints aside, I think the perfect solution would be to build a modern pedestrian bridge each side of the existing bridge giving a balanced perspective. The Millennium Bridge over the Thames is a perfect example of how contemporary design can work well alongside traditional design.
Pedestrian access over the river to the west side could be linked into the footpath to Ashfield Works which will soon be a major new development in Otley, and on the northern side the bridge could be linked into the Otley Town Partnership vision for the riverside' as well as improve pedestrian access to Weston Lane
This would not, however, solve the problem of the high number of vehicles which need to use the river crossing. The solution in part to this problem would be to build a new vehicle bridge off the bypass close to Otley Mills, as suggested by Fred Whyte in your columns last week (Cart before horse').
I would however link this into Weston Lane rather than put a road through to Billams Hill. . A small mini roundabout at the junction of Weston Lane and Billams Hill would reduce speeds and act as a traffic calming measure. None of these suggestions is a cheap option but neither is the cost of messing about with an ancient bridge.
Finally Leeds need to get their act together and restrict heavy Lorries from using the bridge.
Peter Heald - Chairman, Otley Town Partnership
10:20am Thursday 20th March 2008
Print 
Email this 
CommentPosted by: Maureen, Otley on 11:02pm Thu 20 Mar 08
I suppose these "spontaneous" letters of support for Mr Mulholland have nothing to do with the email sent out to supporters of the SOS campaign asking for everybody to write in. Doesn't he like to be criticised?
I suppose these "spontaneous" letters of support for Mr Mulholland have nothing to do with the email sent out to supporters of the SOS campaign asking for everybody to write in. Doesn't he like to be criticised?
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
