Sir, – We are not a committee but we do have concerns and we know many of our fellow residents of sheltered housing in Angus share these.
We reject the claim floated by some Angus Council officials and some interested parties that there is “less demand for sheltered housing”. Evidence points in the opposite direction.
We reject the suggestion, made by some Angus Council officials and some interested parties, that some sheltered housing complexes could be closed down, or turned into general housing.
There is a general housing problem but this is not the way to solve it.
We object to the suggestion that, instead of sheltered housing tenants in Angus having their regular and familiar tenant support officers, they could instead have unfamiliar and unqualified “sometimes” support provided by a (privatised) care agency. This is not acceptable.
We object to the proposal, floated by some council officials that sheltered housing tenants in Angus could lose laundry facilities. We will oppose this.
We object to the idea that sheltered housing complexes in Angus could lose their guest rooms.
When we use that facility, we pay for the guest room and we are responsible for our guests.
Many sheltered housing tenants have family who live a long way away and our own flats are too small to accommodate visitors.
Losing the guest rooms would make people more isolated from their families.
We are opposed to the prospect of sheltered housing complexes losing their communal lounge areas.
These are needed in order to foster a sense of community beyond our own wee flats.
In general, we reject attempts by some officials to deal with sheltered housing tenants as isolated individuals.
Council officials are not alone. They have the full weight of bureaucracy behind them. They had better get used to the idea we are not alone either.
Ted Smith. Blackfriars Court, Montrose. Tom Fowler Jubilee Court, Letham. Dave Coull. Inglis Court, Edzell.
Need for more cycle routes
Sir, – Dundee City Councillor Will Dawson recently outlined the administration’s desire to make the city more cycle friendly.
Apparently the number owning adult bikes or actually using bikes is very low.
This is not surprising as outwith the green circular route, there is little, if anything, to encourage people to take to pedal power.
Perhaps Dundee’s councillors should look to our European neighbours and replicate some simple solutions implemented to ensure cyclists of all ages use their bikes frequently and with confidence.
Having cycled in Bologna, Vienna, Amsterdam and many more cities, I have noted they all boldly paint cycle lanes on wider roads and where dedicated routes have narrower streets, they paint cycle lanes on pavements.
While this is basic and may create occasional irritation to some pedestrians, it is extremely effective as evidenced by the sheer number using cycles.
I fear rather than adopting simple solutions, we may receive some unworkable, complex ideas instead.
Trevor White. 45 Albany Terrace, Dundee.
Stop doing down Dundee
Sir, – A number of your Dundee correspondents have been a little unfair to their home city.
One objected to the proposal of money being spent on the Law and questioned the need for the V&A.
Some have focused on the high unemployment and social problems in the city.
As a frequent visitor from Perth, I have been struck by a new sense of confidence in the city.
The High Street and the shore have been reunited once again and the amount of building work gives hope that something is stirring.
There are those who question the amount of public money being spent on the waterfront.
But we have to remember that private jobs created in recent years have not been sufficient to plug the gap left by the decline of Dundee’s traditional heavy industries.
I look forward to the opening of the V&A and spending time at the new waterfront.
I am particularly excited at the prospect of a marina which could attract high-spending visitors from across Europe.
I am also hopeful that Perth, the rest of Tayside and Fife will benefit from the magnificent work being carried out in Dundee.
There will be hitches along the way but at least Dundee is trying.
Bob Ferguson. North Muirton, Perth.
Steel collapse not SNP’s fault
Sir, – Reading the letters page in recent days, one could be forgiven for thinking that the Scottish education system has been in big trouble for many, many years.
Letters from correspondents have tried to pass blame for the closure of steel works here in Scotland on to the Scottish Government because the steel used for the new Forth crossing came from China.
There have been far too many to list but Councillor Mac Roberts, David Thomson and Colin Cookson really deserve a mention.
Perhaps these gentlemen would be good enough to inform us exactly how a government, any government, or a business can offer work to a company or companies who have not tendered for said work?
It is a simple question and I look forward to reading their response as I am genuinely interested in exactly how this would be done.
Mr Thomson states that there is a parallel in the costly Edinburgh trams debacle.
I sincerely hope that he is not implying that an SNP Government had anything to do with that particular fiasco.
He should recall that the SNP Government did not wish to put money into this particular project but was forced to use £600 million that was earmarked for the upgrade of the A9, to save lives, when they were voted down by the unionist parties.
I look forward to these same unionists writing to decry the Westminster Government selling out to the Chinese but will not hold my breath.
Stephen Windsor. Cach-a-Cheile, The Holdings, Kinfauns.
Flawed process of tendering
Sir, – Further to Mr Bell’s letter (October 27) regarding the fact that no Scottish or UK steel supplier tendered for the new Forth crossing, that indeed was the case, but what should have happened was that the Scottish Government should have worked with the indigenous steel suppliers and the bridge designers to ensure that as much UK and ideally Scottish steel as possible was included in the design.
Public-funded projects must be designed to include as much national material and labour as possible, not just for the benefit of our economy but to avoid debacles such as the Edinburgh trams project where the use of foreign contractors and suppliers has resulted in the client losing all control of the project.
Mr Bell seems to have little confidence in our country’s industrial abilities but if he cares to cast his eye just a few hundred yards upstream of the new bridge he will note the construction of two aircraft carriers using UK steel, some from our Dalzell steel plant.
Perhaps the Scottish Government should have used the same tendering procedures for the new Forth crossing as the UK Government did for the aircraft carriers.
Councillor MacRoberts. Carse of Gowrie Ward, Perth and Kinross Council.
Unnecessary personal attack
Sir, – Alex Salmond (October 26) snidely sniggered at George Osborne for being christened Gideon.
As we all know, Mr Salmond fine-tuned his technique of attacking the messenger not the message during the referendum and apparently continues to enjoy doing so.
We must presume his intention was to raise a cheap laugh.
Well, Mr Salmond, failed architect of the referendum, former First Minister of Scotland and ex leader of the SNP, it is an easy game to play. And for all this you have responsibility.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, for all his faults, did not chose his own forename.
Martin Redfern. 4 Royal Circus, Edinburgh.
No one wants nuclear bombs
Sir, – Unilateralists view higher potential Trident replacement costs as further evidence of the need to stop what they consider a waste of public money.
The SNP will start quoting even higher numbers in their regular attempts to conflate nationalism and the anti-nuclear weapon movement.
In practice, whatever the number, all agree an immense amount is required to maintain a nuclear deterrent.
Those unconvinced by the unilateral approach are not quite as unfeeling about the alternate uses the money could be put to, such as alleviating poverty, or as gung-ho about the potential use of nuclear weapons, as is often implied by the anti-Trident lobby.
I suspect a majority of people favour a multilateral position, reducing and ultimately removing nuclear weapons, as other countries do the same.
We would all prefer to not need to spend billions of pounds a year on the nuclear deterrent, or indeed nearly £40 billion per annum on defence in total, but, in an unpredictable and violent world, we cannot leave ourselves defenceless.
Keith Howell. White Moss, West Linton.