Sir, We do not often consider the difficult decisions that can face our councillors.
Take the long saga of a new Madras College in St Andrews. On the one hand, the councillors are keenly aware how impatient everyone is becoming over the seemingly interminable delays and disappointments.
On the other hand, they are being asked to consider a proposal for the replacement school to be built at Pipeland (on the green belt) without any clear idea of the comparisons of this site with several alternatives available.
Bland assurances by the applicant that it is the “only suitable site” have not been put to the test. Surely such an important decision for the education of our children and the benefit of our community merits a little more rigour in the planning process?
Surely it is vital that Fife Council carries out a thorough like-for-like assessment of its current proposal along with the four or five alternatives, including the North Haugh site, which seems such an obviously strong contender?
The criteria such as educational merit, environmental impact, accessibility, lifetime costs, availability, planning ease, and so on should be simple enough to decide.
This is not rocket science but common sense. Given a fair assessment matrix, I’m sure that our councillors would do the right thing by present and future generations.
Lindsay Matheson. 52 Largo Road, St Andrews.
Russia and the real benefits of realpolitik
Sir, The trend in recent Western foreign policy to encourage revolution has produced discord and mayhem on an international scale and was on full view during the Arab spring.
Events in the Ukraine are too serious for interference from a lame-duck US president, a divided UK Government and a skirt-chasing adolescent posing as French president.
After the 1956 fiasco in which we encouraged Hungary to rise up against Russia but were powerless to help them, Harold Wilson wisely said little about Czechoslovakia in 1968.
His realpolitik also kept us out of the nightmare of Vietnam, while the vainglorious Tony Blair signed us up for Iraq, Afghanistan and every other available “silly foreign war”.
There used to be a tacit understanding of “spheres of influence” and the desire of the Russian-speaking Crimea to separate from Ukraine is absolutely none of our business.
Dr John Cameron. 10 Howard Place, St Andrews.
A promise to Ukraine broken
Sir, I refer to Mr A. Geddie’s letter in Tuesday’s Courier. I think he is wrong.
I have lived and worked in both Moscow and Kiev during the past 20 years. Russia, under the leadership of Mr Putin, has become increasingly aggressive in recent years.
We have also seen Russia’s obstruction of UN humanitarian intentions in Syria, and of Western moves to prevent Iran gaining access to nuclear weaponry.
Citizens of Crimea are Ukrainian passport holders. They are not Russian citizens. Therefore Putin’s claim to be protecting Russian people cannot be valid, especially since there is no evidence of any violence being perpetrated against people of Russian ethnic origin.
We should remember Ukraine was persuaded by the EU and USA to decommission its arsenal of nuclear weapons in the 1990s on the promise it would be defended, though not allowed to become a member of Nato, in deference to Russian sensibilities. To break such a promise, in addition to being an illustration of political perfidy, would give carte-blanche to Putin to carry on his illegal behaviour.
Derek Farmer. Knightsward Farm, Anstruther.
Why voting no is academic
Sir, Two of the world’s top five universities are in Britain. (No prize for guessing which ones.) In all, seven of the world’s top 50, including Edinburgh University, are British. Only the US has more world-class institutions.
Yet another reason why we would be mad to vote yes in September.
Otto Inglis. Ansonhill, Crossgates.
Don’t target gamekeepers
Sir, Regarding the article in The Courier on Monday by Dudley Treffry, I take offence at the way he suggests gamekeepers are akin to whalers and drug traffickers.
Gamekeepers are the custodians of the countryside. Shooting and shooting-related activities take place over two-thirds of the rural land in the UK.
Around £250 million is spent each year on wildlife and habitats. Shooting generates around 2.7 million work days on conservation every year, the equivalent of around 12,000 full-time jobs.
Shooting and other country sports generate millions of pounds for the Scottish economy through full and part-time jobs at rural hotels and retailers.
Like all professions, it just takes one or two people to break the law and weget tarred with the same brush.
Mike Hardy. Boysack, Friockheim.