Today’s letters to The Courier.
Sir, Having read the report in The Courier regarding flooding in Feus Road, Perth, I am appalled at the attitude taken by the spokesperson for Perth & Kinross Council.
To state that owners should protect their properties is a blatant attempt to pass the buck and wriggle out of the liability which the council owes to its residents. The steps which home-owners can take are very limited and would not compensate for the council’s lack of action and investment over the years the basic cause of the problem.
My wife and I have lived in Feus Road for 41 years and had no experience of flooding until approximately eight years ago. Feus Road is not on a flood plain and is not near any watercourses.
The flooding which has occurred is due to the fact that the drainage system cannot cope with the volumes it is now having to carry and a sudden, long-lasting heavy rainstorm is just too much for its capacity.
Much of the flood waters emanate from the main sewer on Crieff Road which overflows with a torrent of water running into Feus Road. This added to water in the Feus Road sewer being unable to escape into the Crieff Road sewer and overspilling into Feus Road, is where the flood comes from.
The drains in Crieff Road and Feus Road are over 100 years old and at that time there was very little housing in the Crieff Road area. More and more houses have been built and Perth College has turned a wooded area into a giant car park with the run-off going into the Crieff Road drain.
I think it is high time that Perth & Kinross Council and Scottish Water faced their obligations and took steps to address the problem by replacing the deficient drainage system with a modern system capable of serving all the properties in the area.
For a council spokesperson to suggest home-owners should solve the problem is absolutely preposterous!
Rodger A Scott.Strathardle,72 Feus Road,Perth.
A case for a Scottish ‘Six’?
Sir, Is there a case for a ‘Scottish Six’ in terms of BBC evening news coverage? The idea of a six-o’clock news wholly edited and produced in Scotland is not entirely new, but it might go some way to assuage the concerns of the Audience Council Scotland in its recent report (Courier, July 13).
I don’t agree there is an undue pro-English bias in the existing coverage (after all, the vast majority of viewers of the ‘Six’ at present will be resident in England the various news items have to reflect that).
I do think, however, there is a case for reviewing the existing situation. The challenges facing Scotland in the next few years surely warrant it. The forthcoming referendum on Scottish independence (in whatever form) is a case in point.
So too, is the increasingly vexed questions of personal care for the elderly and the way our universities are financed.
Supporters of a ‘Scottish Six’ (which would last an hour) are open to the charge of parochialism, but surely modern broadcasting technology can ensure that really importan ‘English’ items, and others from elsewhere in the United Kingdom can be incorporated into the programme.
The best news programmes combine a good batch of local items with a good analysis of wider issues. I’m sure Scottish broadcasters can rise to the challenge. The BBC has adapted to change in the past and for the sake of its credibility north of the border it should embrace this one too.
Bob Taylor.24 Shiel Court,Glenrothes.
Was speed camera hiding?
Sir, On Thursday at around 8.15am, I was travelling, eastbound, on the A92. There was a police camera van at the roadside near Cowdenbeath. There was the normal raised police vehicle stand but the van had tucked in beyond the stand such that his camera was looking out over the top of the mound towards the oncoming traffic.
To me that looked like he was hiding because only the top of the van was visible to the oncoming traffic. I only saw him at the last second myself.
As I understand it and I may be wrong but I thought these mobile camera vans had to be out in the open, in plain view?
If that is true then why was that van hiding? Will that then mean that anyone caught by this trap can get the charge dropped? I know that if I were to get a ticket in a situation like that I would be contesting it.
Is the purpose of these vans to raise revenue through fines, or to slow the traffic down for safety reasons. If the latter, why hide?
Mike Cuthbert.RAF Leuchars,St Andrews.
Need to keep standards up
Sir, The recent 2010 food and drink export figures issued by Scottish Development International, which show that Scottish food exports have grown 14% and smashed the £1 billion mark, is heartening news to the industry and economy.
Over recent years, Scotland’s strong reputation for origin and quality and been successfully built up, and the ‘Produce of Scotland’ mark has become synonymous with excellence.
However, as various businesses begin to capitalise on this, the challenge becomes one of making sure standards don’t drop and the best is not undermined by lower quality products.
Scotland Food and Drink has set ambitious targets for sector growth. Over the next seven years, the industry body wants to see a 25% increase in trade within the Scottish food and drink sector, with exports being the primary driver.
Although product innovation will help in the aim of increasing exports to £5.1bn by 2017 from the current level of £4.1bn, it will not do it alone. The key to success, however, is for more companies to look beyond their current markets.
James Chadwick.Head of Food and Drink,Grant Thornton Scotland,95 Bothwell Street,Glasgow.
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.