In today’s letters to The Courier there is criticism of Perth and Kinross Council, praise for an old soldier’s account of war, a defence of Dundee FC’s transfer activity, and support for an MSP’s comments on Catholic schools.
No point in relying on Perth incinerator petition
Sir,-I read that Peter Barrett is seeking to have the good people of Perth join him in gaining support to his petition against the resubmitted plan for an incinerator in Perth (June 25).
Whilst I join Mr Barrett in objecting to the incinerator, I feel that a petition is a complete waste of time and effort.
As a long-standing councillor, Mr Barrett should know that Perth and Kinross Council, and the various councillors sitting on a variety of committees, only count a petition as one objection.
All those people who organise petitions and those who sign them in the belief that they may help to influence the council are simply wasting their time.
I should also like to draw to the attention of people in Perth that the council only accepts one objection per household to a planning application.
The council refuses to say whether they will accept objections only from husbands or wives living at the same address.
The information I have to hand is that P&K is the only council in Scotland that treats objections in this manner. Indeed most other councils encourage two people living at the same address to put in objections.
Stephen Windsor.The Holdings,Kinfauns.
Wonderful account of courage
Sir,-I have just finished reading the Forgotten Soldier, by Alistair Urquhart.
What a wonderfully-written story of atrocities in the Far East, during the second world war, and how they coped.
How did they survive? The military command and those in Government should read this.
Thank you, Mr Urquhart.
Jim Reid,140 Coupar Angus Road,Birkhill.
Perspective is misleading
Sir,-Whoever painted the picture (June 25) of what Perth and Kinross Council wants the public to believe the proposed civic square would look like is guilty of inaccuracy.
This fantasy bears little resemblance to actuality. Specifically, the image is grossly deceptive in two key respects.
Calculating from the perspective and the relative scale of St John’s Kirk, the width of the square would measure over 200 yards, whereas in fact it is barely 70 yards across. So the true area has been magnified almost three times.
The view is a glamourised impression of the most attractive aspect, looking towards St John’s Kirk. No view is ever shown in the opposite direction, because that would expose the hideous side entrance to St John’s Shopping Centre and adjacent buildings, or some new monstrosity if the area around the Edward VII Memorial is redeveloped.
These distortions are consistent with the approach of the council.
The anonymous council spokesperson dismisses the Perth City Centre Campaign (PCCC) on the grounds that they, “Might require significant public subsidy”, yet the council’s scheme requires public expenditure of over £5 million (the official estimate being as accurate as the Edinburgh trams budget) for nil return.
The PCCC proposal is condemned as “speculative”, yet the council’s financial appraisal is based on nothing more than wishful thinking.
The council refuses to “delay or to spend more time investigating alternative proposals”, yet wasted three years, from 2005 to 2008, on the Wharfside scheme which was obviously unfundable.
After that disastrous episode, the council now seems determined to embark on another one.
There is only one civilised option: to maintain the city hall, as the only large building capable of housing the full range of functions and events under cover.
Vivian Linacre. 21 Marshall Place,Perth.
New signings permissible
Sir,-I don’t understand Alan Provan’s objection to Dundee FC signing players. (June 24). His claim that it is “spend, spend, spend” is misleading.
As long as they operate within their budget, they are within their rights to sign new players. They are not necessarily spending extra money, especially when the transfers out are taken into consideration.
Dundee FC were severely punished for the actions of one man and did indeed suffer as a result.
What would Alan Provan have the club do? Sign no one and play amateurs?
Or perhaps he is one of the few who wanted the club to fold.
Eric Manzie.Axeon Technologies,Wester Gourdie,Dundee.
Too eager to appease church
Sir,-Conservative MSP John Lamont is correct in his assertion (June 24) that sectarian schools encourage division, and have a deleterious effect on society.
It says a lot for the power that religion has in this country that we are not having a debate about the role of education in encouraging segregation.
It is absurd that we are trying to deal with the issue of sectarianism without dealing with the biggest cause namely, encouraging children to think of themselves as different because of their parents’ religion.
When Jim Crowe was outlawed in the American South, the first thing that the US government did was encourage bussing programmes to take children to school in different areas.
It was rightly thought that this would challenge the stereotypes that children had and lead to a reduction in racism.
Politicians are so craven that they would ignore evidence just to appease Cardinal O’Brien.
Catholic schools can quite legally discriminate against non-Catholics when appointing them to their taxpayer-funded schools. This would not apply to any other sector of society.
The Catholic Church is the richest private organisation in the world. If they want to have schools only for followers of the faith then the church should pay for them.
Alan Hinnrichs.12 Gillespie TerraceDundee.
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.