Today’s letter writers take on the problems of poverty, privatisation, energy generation and planning for the future in Perth and Pitlochry.
Government reform aimed at social control Sir, So the sainted Iain Duncan Smith has finally come close to admitting the old Victorian view of poverty equating to moral bankruptcy (March 16).
Of course, simply giving a poor man more money will not set him free but it will free him from poverty the heaviest shackle of all.
What will curtail his freedom are the strings and conditions which are to be attached to the new universal credit.
If giving a drug addict more money simply enables him to indulge his addiction, perhaps the Work and Pensions Secretary should ask his boss to reduce the salaries of MPs, otherwise some might further indulge their propensities for bogus second homes.
Come clean, Mr Smith, it is all about social control and the rich and powerful telling the poor and weak what and what not to do.
George Dobbie.51 Airlie Street,Alyth.
Resist CBI bid for privatisation
Sir, Duncan Mackison of the CBI Scotland told COSLA that he wants more of his members to run public services “to raise standards and improve affordability,” however, he did not mention how much this would cost the Scottish taxpayer or which of his members have the necessary experience to fulfil the many different local authority tasks.
We in Britain have the highest subsidised, most inefficient and expensive public transport system in Europe privately run, of course.
Our electricity and domestic heating oil and gas will soon be affordable only by the wealthy.
We pay billions of taxpayers’ money in subsidies to big profit-making conglomerates who, in turn, avoid paying their taxes and put the burden on those who can least afford it.
Perhaps if Mr Mackison and his CBI were to address some of the latter issues and show that he was really interested in being fair minded I would consider his proposals.
I would hope that the political parties in Scotland would make it plain on where they stand on this issue as I will not be supporting any further privatising of our services.
Jock Nicoll.Hamewith,Saucher,Kinrossie.
Perth could be cycle haven
Sir, Garry Barnett (March 16) is concerned about the £2.3 million cost of the Connect2 bridge in Perth. You reported (August 8, 2010) that £1.25 million is coming from Big Lottery Fund.
This implies £1.05 million must come from elsewhere. One might assume that Perth and Kinross Council will fund a sizeable proportion of that.
This is small beer to the £100 million I have heard proposed for the northern cross Tay link road bridge.
Yet, if the council were to do enough to enable people to walk and cycle, then desire for an extra road bridge would be lessened.
There are also other benefits from enabling walking and cycling the health of residents, air quality and encouraging city-centre rather than out-of-town development.
Perth could, if it wished, become a beacon of walking and cycling.
It is compact and still has good city centre vitality.
To build on this would be to make Perth more attractive to residents and visitors.
Roger Humphry.Viewbank,High Street,Errol.
Rational evaluation
Sir, For a layman, Ian Chisholm (March 16), quotes a lot of science, even if his prevailing wind seems to blow in a very different direction from everyone else’s.
Can he say how many people have died in Fife (or in Scotland) from nuclear or radioactive causes and how many have died from the effects of mining and burning coal?
How many have died from the effects of extracting and burning oil and gas?
If, perish the thought, we become dependent on wind power for electricity, how many will die as a result of the inevitable blackouts?
All forms of human activity are risky.
What’s needed is a rational, educated evaluation of the risks.
Dave Dempsey.7 Carlingnose Park,North Queensferry.
Residents must save Pitlochry
Sir, Pitlochry is regarded by people all over the United Kingdom as well as its inhabitants as a wonderful Victorian tourist area but, if the latest planning application from Uplands Development of Aviemore for the town’s conservation area is approved, Pitlochry will forever lose its attraction.
The proposal to demolish the stone-built Old Bank House and replace it with six retail units with flats above will obliterate the view of the 19th-century parish church with its steeple and distinctive clock tower and tryst from Atholl Road.
Additionally, it is proposed to demolish the former Gregg’s bakery and replace it with a large retail unit with a 54-bed travel hotel above it.
This unit can only be serviced from Atholl Road and the hotel will not have any parking for its guests.
This will result in the loss of six existing parking bays in Atholl Road and six bays in Bonnet Hill to create an entry for the retail units and the occupants of the flats on the Old Bank House site.
Where can 54 motorists park, bearing in mind that Atholl Road is already congested?
The residents must ensure that the planning application is kicked out by recording their opposition with the planning department at Perth and Kinross Council, Pullar House, Kinnoull Street, Perth.
I urge the residents to take up cudgels and not allow a developer to desecrate their conservation area and lower the tone of their town.
Colin McInnes.2 Knockard Crescent,Pitlochry.
Get involved: to have your say on these or any other topics, email your letter to letters@thecourier.co.uk or send to Letters Editor, The Courier, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL.