Letters to the editor, August 18

IT was sickening to read the letter from Mr Baldock (Journal Postbag, Aug 11), headlined ‘Ace deterrent’ regarding the candle float commemorating the August 8, 1945 Atom-bombing of Hiroshima.

First may I tell the writer – since he asks – what this event achieves? It enables us to gather together, in grief, or even repentance for the cruelty and destruction which that war crime inflicted on a whole city, killing hundreds of thousands of civilians – like ourselves – and condemning those who did survive to deadly radiation sickness for the rest of their days.

The best amends we can make, 71 years later, is to stand up determined to see nuclear weapons eliminated from the Earth as soon and as completely as possible. And to have faith that it is possible, if we are determined.

Unfortunately, the road to nuclear disarmament is hedged about with political difficulties and disingenuous argument, so that people like Mr Baldock can try both to deny the crime and excuse their willingness to see it repeated.

I wonder why our quiet candles, celebrating the spirit of peace and mercy, caught his attention so particularly, and provoked him to react with his dreadful expressions. I would like to think he might be secretly touched with remorse in spite of himself: so my advice to him is to consult his own conscience.

Christopher Browne, Salisbury

Building links

Cllr Walsh provides a welcome balanced view of the outcome of Wiltshire Council’s recent Governance review (Journal Postbag, Aug 11). I would like to add a further comment in respect of strategic decision making for the settlement of Salisbury.

Wiltshire Council have set the strategic direction in their Core Strategy where Salisbury is defined as a Principle Settlement and a hub for future development. Such a settlement needs to have good coordinated local government, with an effective and democratic way of taking decisions which affect the whole settlement area in a host of areas including transport, education, health and green infrastructure.

There has been a natural progression over the last 800 years, with the boundaries of Salisbury moving outwards over this time to include new and old housing linked to the city. Wiltshire Council has now seen fit to reverse this trend, seemingly feeling they can improve on the situation by making Salisbury City smaller. The area which comprises the defined settlement of Salisbury in the Core Strategy is split between different area boards and parish councils, and the new housing allocated to Salisbury to 2026 is largely being built outside Salisbury City parish, and Salisbury Community Area, in Laverstock and Ford (southern area) and in Wilton (south-western area).

The frictions between Salisbury and surrounding parishes are a consequence of the poorly thought through governance arrangements which have left the settlement of Salisbury divided and with limited formal links between the parts. There seems a stark contrast with pre-unitary days, when Salisbury District Council better reflected the reality of a historic and growing city serving a larger, more rural hinterland. However, we must now do our best within this current flawed set-up and build the links which are needed to work together on matters which affect the future of the whole area of Salisbury.

Margaret Willmot, Salisbury City Councillor Fisherton and Bemerton Ward

Balancing act

So Councillor Walsh presents ‘a balanced view’ wherein Salisbury should absorb Laverstock because Salisbury is growing and absorbing Laverstock is to the benefit of his constituents in Fisherton & Bemerton and because Laverstock is a minority.

How balanced! How sophisticated! How fair and reasonable.

What balderdash; what arrogance. Under what legislation does Cllr Walsh suggest that one parish should pay for the activities of another parish? That is not how the system works. The current position is that Salisbury is a mere parish giving itself the aura of a ‘city’ while Laverstock is its exact peer as another parish.

Laverstock has not failed to ensure a safe access and egress to the London Road Aldi store, has not forgotten to ensure that street-cleaning is included in the transfer of contracts from Balfour Beatty to Ringway and has not required 65 staff and 23 councillors to etc, etc.

And one hopes that the toilets will reek a little less under the new owners.

As a finale, Cllr Dean stated clearly [SCC EGM Mon, August 8] that the transfer of assets ‘is an opportunity to make savings’. This makes it so very clear that the attempted takeover was wholly to do with the money to be obtained by an improper power-grab. Proving also that the posturing about ‘the failure to takeover Laverstock is a deal-breaker for the asset transfer’ per Cllr Roberts was a complete travesty.

Who – exactly – has the minority of actual voters? For his Wiltshire seat, Cllr Walsh had 388 people vote for him in a turnout of 1084 from an available 3392; for his Salisbury seat 329 voted for him. Laverstock collected 1008 households to vote against the Salisbury plan.

Some weeks ago, I asked for just one Salisbury councillor to show me clearly the benefits which would accrue to Laverstock from the unwanted takeover by Salisbury. I had no reply; unless one counts this ‘balanced view’ from Cllr Walsh.

John King, Laverstock

Clean sweep

Am I alone in my despair at how my council tax is being spent?

The news that the council “forgot” to include Salisbury’s street cleaning in the new contract with Landscape Group – and therefore people have been made redundant, expensive machines lie idle and we all (including tourists) have to endure dirty streets is one side of the story.

Here in Amesbury we have another street cleaning waste. There used to be a man, who every morning swept the pavements and gutters with a stiff broom. This has been stopped for a few years, we have gone from a man with a blower, literally redistributing the litter and dirt, for it to blow back into the gutters again – that has thankfully stopped. Now, however, two men walk down the street several times a week in Landscape fluorescent clothing, chatting to each other; one occasionally picks up a bit of litter with a grabber, the other just chats to the first. They get to the corner, the one who has been chatting changes the rubbish bag in the litter bin – and they walk back into town to their van repeating the process. We were told the man with a broom was too expensive, surely two men and a van doing this has got to be more expensive than one man with a broom and trolley and no van?

It gets worse, once a fortnight (I think) a sweeper lorry thunders down the street at around 7am not touching the pavements, and generally missing all the gutters – because none of us have left for work, so the street is full of parked cars. The only thing the lorry achieves is to wake us all. So that is three people, a van and a large expensive lorry, not doing the job anywhere near as well as one man with a trolley and a stiff broom – please can we have one man and a broom back...say three times a week instead of every day?

Adam Woods, Amesbury

There by the grace of God

So Colin Duller appears to take offence at the sight of “ne’er do wells” and “undesirables” sat on the Library steps (Postbag, Aug 11). He is disappointed that they are not moved away and that they have no intention of going inside and increasing their knowledge. Well let me respectfully increase yours Mr Duller.

Many of the fellow human beings you so kindly refer to, are living on the streets because they suffer from severe mental health issues. Some of those are former soldiers who joined the Army after growing up in ‘care’ and consequently had nowhere to go when they were medically dismissed.

Some of those “undesirables” are on the street, because as children, they have grown up in households where they have been subjected to the most horrific abuse and violence. They live on the streets because it is far safer than living at home.

Instead of condemnation, try showing some empathy and compassion, and instead of negativity, do something positive. Petition your local MP to reverse the damaging cuts to NHS Mental Health Services. Perhaps make a donation to a homelessness charity such as Alabare. Or better still, get yourself down to their office in Barnard Street and volunteer some of your spare time to help the very hard working and dedicated staff who work tirelessly trying to help people less fortunate than themselves.

In doing so, you will get to meet some of these “ne’er do wells” and you might see that they are just like the rest of us, human beings with an individual life story. A story that you will be glad is not your own.

David Griffiths, Alderbury

Encouraging rats

There has been a plethora of items in the Journal in the last fortnight about flocking birds.

Whether those birds are pigeons, rock doves, seagulls, rooks, starlings or any other flocking bird type they can and do cause public nuisance.

An even greater nuisance is caused by the public feeding these birds in public places. Signs around The Maltings park area ask people not to feed the birds because of the rat problem.

Stand quietly alongside the car park and you can spot the rats skittering to and fro carrying lumps of white bread thrown by the public for the birds.

It has been much published that white bread is bad for birds as they have serious difficulty digesting it. The rat populations will grow in proportion to the food sources available. Rats have many litters of babies each year and create plagues where there is no restriction on the food available. Studies have been carried out in American cities where there are serious rat infestations.

Signs are only effective if somebody is put in place to reinforce the signage. There is nobody to enforce the ‘Please do not feed the birds’ instructions.

There certainly is nobody, nor any signs, to tell the public not to feed the rats. They will continue to breed accordingly and, as yet, we have no ‘Pied Piper’.

Eric G Hart, Salisbury

Pigeons beware

I read in last week’s Journal that a pigeon cull had take place, and that all the baby pigeons from under the bridge near the railway station had gone to a sanctuary. That sounded fair enough I thought. Then I read that there would be a further cull in the city of Salisbury, and all the pigeons rounded up would be sent to Yeovil. ‘How peculiar’ I thought. ‘I wonder what Yeovil has done to upset Salisbury so much.’ All was revealed in Annie Riddle’s column of August 11. Instead of living happily in retirement in Somerset, they are destined to be ‘despatched humanely’ when they get to Yeovil. It so reminded me of that wonderful old film starring Cary Grant, ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ where his character’s eccentric old aunts and uncle send their unwanted lodgers ‘To Panama’. So, beware, ye pigeons of Salisbury, do not be tempted by glossy brochures offering you a permanent home in Somerset, it might be more permanent than you think!

Patricia Heath, Salisbury

Feeding road congestion

The recent article about a drive-through restaurant and hotel is another way of advising us of even more pending driving misery and not a welcome one unless the authorities do something soon about the traffic flow on the Southampton Road.

Having another reason to use this already inadequate route will only add longer and greater congestion to our extremely poor ring road. A McDonalds drive-thru! Why? For heavens sake the NHS is already warning us of the obesity problem.

But the real problem is the traffic, not the over indulgent. Having another hotel is good but not there.

Think of the emergency vehicles that have to gett through the build up, not only towards Southampton but from St Mark’s roundabout to the hospital. The build up used to begin from 4.30 to 5pm, now it can be all day.

Come along local MP, do something about campaigning for improved road system in Salisbury.

Robert Hayes, Salisbury