Wharfemeadows Park is like an open tip

I planned to spend all day in the park but decided to cut my visit short as I couldn’t bear to be in, as the councillor quoted, ‘the wonderful public open space that people come from all around to visit’. He should have called it an open tip as that’s what it resembles at the moment.

I’m sure I’m not the only person to be annoyed by the state of this park and would urge everyone to contact the council regarding this mess by the following contact method I found on the notice board at the entrance to the park, parks@leeds.gov.uk.

Name and address supplied

Hoping Wharfemeadows gets a share of park cash

In my role as a town councillor and chairman of Otley Disabled Action Group (ODAG) I have campaigned hard with other local people over the years to get the city council to provide play equipment in Wharfemeadows Park playground that is suitable for children with disabilities. It was ODAG (with help from the Royal Variety Club and Leeds City Council) who raised the funds in 2004 to install the water play equipment and convert an under-used part of the playground into an inclusive play area for children of all ages and abilities.

The Liberal Democrat/Tory-run Leeds City Council has recently received £1.1 million from the Labour Government’s Playbuilder scheme to revamp a list of playgrounds across the city. Wharfemeadows is not on that list but it is obvious that the huge government cash boost to Leeds allows the council to allocate a bigger share of its resources to its other playgrounds as well. I am sure that the campaigning efforts of Otley people and the extra £1.1 million grant from Labour has helped make it possible for Leeds to find £235,000 to refurbish the Wharfemeadows Park play area. ODAG has not yet been formally consulted by the city council but we look forward to being involved and hope that all the new equipment will be fully accessible for children with disabilities.

I would welcome comments from local parents and visitors to Otley on what is needed in each of the playgrounds across Otley.

Town Councillor Neville Birch (Labour)

St Clair Road, Otley

We need a House of Commons populated by public servants

Over the last few weeks and months there have been a number of letters from your readers talking about how Greg Mulholland works hard for his constituents and the important issues in the area. I have no doubt that Mr Mulholland works hard for the Leeds North West area but I cannot imagine that others in the same position wouldn't work just as hard! So, for me, that is not the issue.

My issues lie elsewhere. Having looked at the ongoing saga of MPs’ expenses, in particular their claims for food expenses, I can understand why most ordinary people like myself have been so outraged by the goings-on in Westminster.

Let me try to explain with a little simple arithmetic.

A person on minimum wage, regardless of his/her circumstances, very rarely gets the opportunity to claim for food. All food costs must come out of his/her wage. In certain circumstances another person on minimum wage may claim food expenses and can benefit by having up to an additional £10 per week to spend as a result of tax relief on earnings. That tax relief is equivalent to pay before tax of about £650 per annum. An MP, however, gets his £100 per week in addition to his/her very substantial remuneration of around £65,000 per annum. This extra is the equivalent of a further £8,100 or so of taxed pay per annum. This, perhaps, goes some way to show why the gap between the rich and the poor is wider than ever before. That it is the "rule makers" who benefit more than the rest of us poses the very serious question of who, exactly, are they really working for.

To be fair, I should point out that IPSA have reduced the upper limit that can be claimed for food to £15 per week which suggests that the previous allowance was somewhat over generous.

For those that don't know IPSA is the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority announced by Mr Brown late last year. This quango was set up to monitor and, presumably, set standards for MPs' expenses. The cost we are told is about £6.5 million and will employ a staff of about 80 people.

Now, we need some even simpler arithmetic.

To make sure that MPs do not overstep the mark we have an organisation where each member of staff costs on average £80,000 per year, monitoring on average about eight MPs each, at an average cost of about £10,000 per MP. Bearing in mind that MPs were required to pay back to the Exchequer about £1 million at the height of the scandal where is the value in setting up such an organisation?

What this country needs is a new radical organisation willing to thoroughly overhaul the whole system. We desperately need a House of Commons populated by public servants who are seen to operate a fair system for the whole national community and not the self-serving House of Conmen we currently suffer!

Cliff Kane

The Whartons, Otley

Judge on what they do, not what they say they will do

A good measure of the social integrity of political parties is the way in which they treat the weakest and most vulnerable members of society. Our children, the elderly and disabled. It is they who will suffer from the credit crunch, not the wealthy who have the means to avoid discomfort.

To see the truth of this look no further than the Conservative and Liberal Democrat-controlled Leeds City Council.

Their record on childcare and adult social services is appalling. Judge them by what they are doing. Not by what they say they will do.

Voters must not be distracted by the smoke and mirrors of spurious political argument and vague promises for the future that will never materialise. They must use real actions as the basis for choosing politicians. If we want real change we must vote outside the box and upset the applecart.

Please think carefully before you vote. It will not only affect the lives of our children the elderly and disabled for the next five years but also for the rest of their lives.

Malcolm Naylor

Grange View, Otley

More reasons than ever to vote

I hope you will allow me a brief appeal to readers to vote in the election. It is said that the televised debates have roused the UK electorate, particularly the young. Let’s hope so. With our courageous youngsters out in Afghanistan risking their lives and sadly all too often dying for democracy there are more reasons than ever to vote.

I was in Afghanistan in 1980 before the days of the Taliban when the Mujahideen were supported by the West in their struggle against the Russian-backed Afghan army. Before one attack I photographed a young Mujahideen fighter with the telling words on his cap: “Tomorrow awaits”.

He survived that attack but who knows what successive tomorrows brought him. He could be happily retired now or may be dead. Whatever, I am certain he would rather have had the opportunity to vote for his future than have to fight for it.

M J Huskisson

Suffolk

Read the small print before casting your vote

Reading the small print is a must before signing a contract, and the same goes before casting your vote.

One party seeking election has the nerve to bill unwanted national road pricing as a ‘fair deal for motorists’. They will introduce it after the next parliament, ie, possibly a few years away, and claim that motorists will be no worse off. From where will they get the £60 billion needed, not to mention the large running costs?

Another party rules out national road pricing in the next parliament, but this is disingenous as they are fully signed up to European Union proposals and have been putting in the technology piecemeal at local level. They also support workplace parking taxes.

Another party supports road pricing for lorries, but the technology could easily be used to track the rest of us. They have the gall to consider tolls to provide new roads and even on existing roads, including motorways.

Drivers already pay around £50 billion a year for paltry investment; the new and repaired roads that we badly need have already been paid for in advance.

Opinion poll research has shown that the driver vote will be key. I urge voters to ask candidates some searching questions about where they personally stand before casting their vote.

Brian MacDowall

Campaign Director, Association of British Drivers, PO Box 2228, Kenley CR8 5ZT

Council leader’s assurance on Otley Civic Centre

Regular readers of the Wharfedale will know that suggestions made by two correspondents (Observer Letters, April 22) were wide of the mark last week with regard to the Civic Centre.

Can I repeat, the Civic Centre plans have been agreed by the council, the funding is identified and work will start after the election. Despite what is being said in political leaflets, this project is on course to bring benefits to Otley.

Councillor Jim Spencer

Thorn Croft, Burras Lane, Otley

We must be prepared for travel disruption

Now the recent air travel chaos seems to be subsiding, we need to look at lessons that can be learnt.

Events were obviously the result of an unforeseen phenomenon, but I would question the response of the Government and the European authorities. Initially a safety first approach was the right course of action. However, the Government was slow to respond, the scientific information they used was too limited and in the end the length of the travel ban was perhaps disproportionate.

Firstly we need to find a common approach to compensation for passengers who were stranded around the world. A huge amount of my constituents are writing to me now complaining that they weren't well cared for during their ordeals. European rules are in place and they provide adequate protection for passengers. These must be respected by the airlines.

Secondly, we have to deal with the situation the airlines find themselves in. They have been losing money at a time when many are already in dire financial straits. Airports have also lost out, and there must be measures in place that compensate them also. This has to come firstly from the UK Government, as the decision to impose the EU flight ban was taken by individual Member States.

We must be better prepared to prevent this level of disruption to the travelling public if such events ever happen again.

Timothy Kirkhope

MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber

Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament