Sir, One of the great pleasures of living in Dundee is having easy access to such beautiful countryside.
The Sidlaws are a magnificent and seriously under-appreciated part of Scotland and we in Dundee are extremely lucky to have so much scenic grandeur right on our doorstep.
Against the background of these facts, I was horrified to read about the proposal to bulldoze pretty much everything between the Double Tree by Hilton and Liff (Homes boost for Western Gateway, November 14).
I don’t think it’s obvious at all that there is a need for 600 new houses on the west side of Dundee, but even if so many houses are needed, there is really no need to build them in such a brutal and insensitive fashion, on a greenfield site which is part of Dundee’s green belt.
There are plenty of brown-field sites within Dundee that would be actively improved by tidying them up and putting new houses on them.
It’s also possible to add new housing “organically”, to the edges of already-existing villages, rather than cramming them together in anonymous and heartless estates. The new housing on the Glamis road in Newtyle is one good example of this much less intrusive and much more socially sensitive practice.
I regard this plan as madness and also as environmental and cultural vandalism.
If we want people to visit Scotland, why on earth would we devote so much effort to trashing Scotland?
Why should Dundee be the UK City of Culture if it’s busy destroying its own surroundings and environment?
I urge all Courier readers to oppose this crazily destructive proposal with all the resources at their disposal.
Professor Timothy Chappell. Dundee.
Engaging with the people
Sir, I write to thank all the people who took part in the recent Parliament Day in Arbroath. It was their generous support, involvement and interest that helped to make it such a wonderful day.
The Parliament Day initiative is at the heart of the Scottish Parliament’s engagement with the people of Scotland. It is designed to take the work of the parliament out into local communities across Scotland, bringing it closer to the people it represents and for us to find out their hopes and aspirations.
During my time in Arbroath I was impressed by the wide variety of local people we met who care passionately about their community and with whom we want to build long-term relations. I know that my MSP colleagues on the finance committee had similar experiences during the day and I would like to thank all the organisations and businesses who took the time to take part in the committee workshops.
If anyone didn’t manage to catch us on the day then don’t forget that you can always visit us in Edinburgh, if you area able to, or follow us online (at www.scottish.parliament.uk and on Facebook and Twitter) where you can watch live debates and meetings as they happen.
We have all brought back lasting memories of the day and my sincere thanks to everyone who helped make the Parliament Day so interesting, informative and enjoyable.
Tricia Marwick MSP. Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament.
Confused by this scenario
Sir, Am I the only one to be confused by two reports in The Courier recently? There was one report about a Fife man who was fined £350 for shooting one seagull. Yet two pages later we read that a “Scots community got so fed up with marauding seagulls, that they paid for a markswoman to shoot them”.
She shot seven gulls so why is she not being fined? Is it okay if you hire someone to shoot the gulls but not okay if you shoot them yourself? Can someone explain?
Margaret Hellicar. 2 St Ayles Crescent, Anstruther.
War memorials need protection
Sir, Thank goodness for people like Steven Reid who wish to initiate a law specifically to prevent damage to war memorials by vandals or thieves. Our ancestors and colleagues have not laid down their lives lightly and their relations must not have to weep in despair as the names of those who have given their everything on our behalf are torn down or defaced by the lowest grade of human being.
Sunken naval ships, quite correctly, hold a protected status as consecrated graves, so why should all the war memorials in our towns and villages not hold a similar status?
No nation can afford to forget, or allow to be forgotten, the names of those who died in order that the nation should live on!
Archibald A Lawrie. Kettleholm House, 5 Church Wynd, Kingskettle, by Cupar.
No cutbacks at Holyrood?
Sir, How is it that we have redundancies and cutbacks in police, fire service and local government workers but no cuts in staff at Holyrood?
W Taylor. Caskieberran Road, Glenrothes.