Madam, – Having just returned from another holiday in Orkney where the air is so clean, if a trifle brisk now and again, I find yet another missive from the council regarding the proposed development in Scone North.
In view of the distinct possibility of future legislation regarding our right to unpolluted air, especially in urban areas, I wonder where the responsibility will lie legally if there are breaches of the law.
The unwanted developments in Scone and further north are only going to increase the already heavy pollution affecting Gannochy, Bridgend and Atholl Street in Perth.
Are the powers that be content to wait until someone sues them for causing severe health problems by allowing these developments?
Given that Gannochy and Bridgend have housing set aside for a significant number of elderly folk, it can only be a matter of time before there are further serious health consequences.
The proposed single carriageway “bypass” will not reduce traffic through Scone and Bridgend to any significant degree as any commuters from Scone and further north to Dundee, Edinburgh and north Fife will still go through Bridgend as opposed to going out towards Balbeggie and then coming back towards Perth from Luncarty – what a waste of fuel.
As the developers are only interested in profit, does our council have the courage to place a moratorium on any further development pending a proper analysis of the polluting effects of such developments?
I doubt it.
Will they even recognise that the health and education infrastructure in Scone cannot support an increase in population? Again, I doubt it.
John D.Ridley,
Spoutwells Drive,
Scone.
Licence payers short-changed
Madam, – Firstly I must advise that I do enjoy the free licence and would resent that from next year I will lose this benefit.
On reading The Courier, I agree fully with all that Allister Allan writes (BBC should examine output, Courier, June 15).
I must also add to his comments regarding the distribution of the fee as it is time the BBC looked at the extremely high amounts paid to various presenters and entertainers where they enjoy salaries far above that paid to our prime minister.
I would also have some sympathy to those who have to pay the licence fee as they are really being short changed.
I have looked at the number of repeats from June 11 to 21 inclusive and there have been, or will be 87, on BBC1 and 94 on BBC2.
There is surely a question to be answered here.
Tom Shepherd,
Servite Court,
Monifieth.
Defaulters can’t all be jailed
Madam, – I have been forced to have a TV licence for the past 51 years and I consider it nothing less than a poll tax.
A newsreader: are they as skilled as a tradesman?
The BBC pays kings ransoms to employees, claiming if it reduces wages down to a maximum £150,000 year they would not save enough money.
What would they do if we all stopped paying and did not allow the detector van staff to enter our home. If we all did this what would they do?
They can’t jail us all. They can’t even jail criminals.
Politicians must get their finger out and stop this organisation bleeding the country to pay for jobs for the boys and girls.
Reduce the size of the service to a few thousand people. Better still close it down – the BBC would not be missed by most of the public.
John G Phimister,
63 St Clair Street,
Kirkcaldy.
Hypocrisy from Greenpeace
Madam, – Greenpeace have sent their ship, the Arctic Sunrise, to block Transocean’s rig heading for the Vorlich Field in the North Sea.
They want to stop oil production, yet the Arctic Sunrise is powered by a diesel engine.
“It’s not what we do, it’s what we say that counts” should be their motto.
The undeniable fact is that, without oil, civilisation would collapse.
When the crew of the Arctic Sunrise tried to shut down a Gazprom rig in the southern Barents Sea in September 2013 they were detained at gunpoint and imprisoned after their ship was towed to Murmansk.
That is the sort of action the British government should take against these economic criminals.
William Loneskie,
9 Justice Park,
Oxton,
Lauder.
£1 trillion won’t stop emissions
Madam, – The UK Government has set a legally binding target to reduce emissions to net-zero by 2050.
According to Chancellor Philip Hammond, this will cost £1 trillion.
Reminder; the UK has only 1.3% of global emissions. India will double its coal consumption by 2040 to power the nation.
The US is exporting coal and its biggest customer is Europe, followed by China.
Germany’s eight coal-fired power plants alone create emissions of over 50% of Britain’s emissions from all sources.
No wonder Germany refuses to introduce a legally binding Climate Change Act.
In yet another shock for the Greens the government of Queensland Australia has given final approval for plans to open coal fields the size of Britain.
So the world is returning to coal to drive their economies whilst the UK wastes £1 trillion that would be better spent on the NHS, education, the police and even a few potholes and TV licences.
Clark Cross,
138 Springfield Road,
Linlithgow.
Positive change for Blue Badges
Madam, – The Department for Transport announcing that the Blue Badge Scheme will now be open to people like me with hidden disabilities is a very important step forward.
I’m often challenged for using accessible amenities, like seats on trains.
If people can’t see a disability then they don’t think it is there, or they don’t believe the severity of your disability is what you say it is.
When you have a hidden disability you have to work harder to show you have something wrong with you. It shouldn’t be like that.
The change to the Blue Badge Scheme is positive.
People with hidden disabilities need accessible parking. I only apply for a Blue Badge because I need it – I need adaptations to drive my car and sometimes I can’t travel on my own.
It’s important to remember not to judge a book by its cover and that some people have disabilities that aren’t always visible. The new scheme recognises that.
Jordan Smith,
Health Equalities Lead,
Dimensions.
Channel needs your support
Madam, – Twenty-one shows on BBC Scotland have recorded zero viewers.
Absolutely no one.
C’mon, Nicola – the channel was created because of the political pressure you and the rest of the SNP establishment piled on to the BBC; most of us didn’t want it nor its £30 million annual costs.
It’d only be polite for you to watch occasionally.
Martin Redfern.
Woodcroft Road,
Edinburgh.
