Sir, – As Britain prepares to potentially cut or at least very significantly reduce its ties with Europe, the campaign to increase Levenmouth’s ties with the rest of Scotland only continues to build.
Unlike Brexit, there is absolutely no division among the local population on this issue.
Indeed there is also remarkable unanimity across political parties, not to mention business and various other local organisations.
Levenmouth’s own version of Brexit – the severing of rail links with the rest of the country – took place almost 50 years ago and coincided with the closure of the local pits.
Unlike Brexit, Levenmouth residents were given no say in the decision.
Rather, they have had to live with the adverse impact which has left this area among the most deprived in the country.
It has left this large community, the 25th largest settlement in Scotland and by far the largest with no rail link, unfortunately isolated from the rest of the country which enjoys the unique connectivity of rail travel.
In recent years, local people, businesses, politicians and others, including experts, have spoken clearly about it now being high time for this decision to be reversed.
They all agree the mothballed rail link should be re-opened.
There is no need for a referendum on the subject.
Action is awaited – and it is perhaps worth noting that the solution is much simpler than resolving the Brexit fiasco.
Dr Allen Armstrong,
36 College Street,
Buckhaven.
Rescue unit is essential
Sir, – I was concerned to read in Saturday’s Courier that HIAL are reviewing the provision of water rescue craft at Dundee Airport and six other airports (“Dundee Airport could lose emergency craft”, Courier, December 8).
With Dundee Airport positioned right on the banks of the River Tay a rapid water rescue capability is essential in the case of an accident.
The main approach to Runway 09 passes directly over Invergowrie Bay, for Runway 27 is mostly over the river estuary and the visual circuits for Runways 09 and 27 are almost totally over water to the south of the runway.
This is to avoid aircraft flying at lower heights over the built up area to the north of the airport.
The airport’s water rescue equipment used to consist of a small hovercraft which could respond quickly whatever the state of the tide.
It coped well with water and mud flats.
This was replaced with a boat for high water and a multi-wheel buggy for mud at low tide.
The firefighters are on site and ready to respond immediately to any incident during the airport operating hours.
If an aircraft crashed into the river, the nearest lifeboat station able to respond is at Broughty Ferry.
Due to crew response times and the distance involved the lifeboat would take much longer to respond to an incident close to the airport than the airport’s own rescue team.
It might take too long for anybody needing rescuing.
The Courier article said that the HIAL board were told that there had only been one incident in 30 years, which happened at Shetland in 2013.
Someone in HIAL has a very short memory because there was an accident at Dundee in October 2003 when an aircraft crashed into the river and the four people on board were rescued by the Dundee Airport hovercraft – before the Broughty Ferry lifeboat reached the accident.
Water rescue capability is an absolute necessity at Dundee and I’m sure that a true public consultation would confirm people’s desire for it to be available at all times that the airport is operating.
Gareth James,
18 Challum Crescent,
Broughty Ferry.
A particulate problem
Sir, – Having watched a number of recent TV programmes concerning the persistent plastic pollution of the oceans and elsewhere, I am now evidently an inhabitant of “Waste World”.
This has not happened overnight, yet only now has recycling become the watch word of the century.
Bad-for-the-biosphere man – the one who uses the mad wrapper, that even covers plastic with plastic, and then buries it, or dumps it in the seas – must think, somehow, that that is the end of it.
Should any future intelligent life on this planet discover our fossilised remains they will be covered in eternal indestructible plastic.
They may even wonder if plastic was part of our morphology.
Yet, the most insidious plastic waste is not that which we see bobbing on the oceans, but its particulate permeation into all forms of living tissue. That should cause the greatest concern.
As with global warming, is this sudden concern too little too late to avoid disaster?
If you are reading this whilst eating your takeaway lunch packed in a plastic tray, and washing it down with a cold drink poured from a plastic bottle into a plastic cup, then you already have the answer.
Leslie Milligan,
18b Myrtlehall Grdns,
Dundee.
Scotland is being ignored
Sir, – The media is full of deals – this deal, that deal, no deal…
This one would ruin the country, that one would be worse; the Treasury says this, the banks say that; May says this, Mogg says that.
Meanwhile, Labour hangs about.
We in Scotland have been here before.
We were told the only way to stay in the EU is to vote “no”.
The oil is finished, we were told.
Scotland can’t afford independence, we were told.
There were warnings of posts on the border.
We were also told Scotland would have the most powerful devolved parliament in the world.
Scotland voted “no”, yet we are almost out of the EU; oil in abundance is flowing from Scottish waters (revenues to Westminster); all the figures show that an independent Scotland would be a very wealthy country indeed; frictionless borders are all the rage; the powers to be “the most powerful devolved Parliament in the world”, according to the “vow”, are being withdrawn; Northern Ireland is to have advantageous trading terms with Europe.
So where are Scotland’s interests in all of this?
Les Mackay,
5 Carmichael Gardens,
Dundee.
There can be no happy ending
Sir, – What a shambles it all is.
Despite the protestations to the contrary, this whole Brexit fiasco is about who runs the Tory party and not about the national interest. David Cameron called the referendum in the first place in an attempt to silence the Tory extreme right and see off the threat of UKIP.
He then retires to his shed to write his memoirs leaving others to pick up the mess.
And what a mess.
By the Government’s own admission the country – us – will be worse off whatever Brexit is implemented.
It is only a matter of degree.
This on top of Tory austerity policies that have seen child poverty and inequality increase over the last 10 years (we still have more cuts to come).
It seems as though it is us that is paying the cost of this internecine Tory war.
It won’t be the rich Tories and their donors that will pay the price, it will be the ordinary working people of Britain.
The ship is heading for the iceberg and all the Tories can do is fight over who will be at the helm.
We are now faced with the possibility of Boris Johnson, Rees-Mogg, Liam Fox or any other of the discredited bunch becoming the new leader of the Tory party and, because they are in Government, de facto prime minister.
What a thought.
Oh, and let’s not forget, Scotland voted to remain.
So much for democracy.
Brian Batson,
7 Lour Road,
Forfar.
Stop ignoring the people
Sir, – Theresa May continues to amaze me.
She travels the country trying to get people to accept her Brexit plan yet she totally ignores the prominent people who tell her she is wrong.
She reminds me of these generals during the First World War who told the troops to walk towards the German machine guns.
She is leading us to economic oblivion because of a 1.9% majority in the referendum.
Can she not see the people are demanding another say?
Alister Rankin,
93 Whyterose Terrace,
Methil.