25/09/04

I accept that it is good to be traffic-free but to destroy our heritage will surely go against the wishes of the majority of Darlingtonians.

We will then become just another town no longer having the "high flags and low flags". The council may have worked very closely with English Heritage and consultants Gillespies but what about working very closely with the people of the town?

I would like The Northern Echo to hold a referendum on the council's plans to see what percentage are against them.

As for disabled people, I am one. Why not just put another ramp near Binn's corner? We already have one at Bondgate and another near Post House Wynd. I find no difficulty getting onto High Row.

I hope the council does not carry on regardless of how we Darlingtonians feel? - Mrs J Christian, Darlington

WAKE up Darlington! The council has plans to change the High Row forever.

Gone will be the second, deck-like level, protected by handsome Victorian railings and balustrades. Instead shallow, hazardous steps will descend to road level.

Gone will be short benches. Instead, five long benches will head the steps.

Gone will be the short zigzag slopes. Instead, two diagonal slopes will bisect the steps; difficult in icy weather.

The Market Cross is beautifully sited, enhanced by flag stones. A natural focus, people sit on the steps. The inadequate drawings at the inadequate public consultation in July show pink "performance areas" around the Cross and near the statue. Is this pink as in Tubwell Row?

I feel enraged that the council should decide to destroy High Row; presumably with our money. I feel betrayed, also, by English Heritage. I am astonished it has given its blessing to such a scheme.

The loss of convenient bus stops outside the Covered Market is a separate issue, as is the promise that wholesale pedestrianisation is always a good thing.

If you disagree with the council, please write to protest. A postcard will do. - A Gibbon, Darlington.

I WAS pleased to read that Darlington Civic Trust (Echo, Sept 17) is raising objections to the proposals for the Pedestrian Town Centre Scheme.

The town centre does need a facelift, but with £6.5m of our money, our council appears to have lost the plot. Some of the proposals are bordering on ridiculous.

Do we really need bus shelters that change colour as the bus approaches, or lamp-posts that will register our heart rates?

A water cascade opposite the Covered Market to "create a gentle background noise to a quiet seating area" sounds idyllic, but totally impractical. The mix of granite paving and cascading water on a frosty morning sounds like a recipe for a few broken limbs.

Of course, the cyclists who are to be allowed to break the law by riding on the pavements will perform wheelies along the High Row and use the water cascade as a Beecher's Brook.

I understand that the statue of Joseph Pease is to be moved. I hope that when the old gentleman is finally re-sited that he is facing away from the town centre. Otherwise he may fall off his plinth in a fit of laughter.

Come to think about it, the other people who must be laughing are the planners who have sold these ideas to our gullible council.

£6.5m is a lot of money - and still no mention of a new bus station. - R Elliott, Darlington.

HAS anyone contacted English Heritage to inquire if the popular balustrade, and steps on High Row can be listed as features of historical interest and thereby saved from destruction? - MG Ackroyd, Durham City.

DURHAM CITY

MY wife and I passed through Durham recently and noticed a banner promoting a garden show being held at county hall. We decided to attend.

What a wonderful surprise to see such a magnificent display of flowers, vegetables and arts and crafts, many of which had been prepared and presented by young people.

We learned that the show had been cancelled earlier in the year by the city council, but thanks to the efforts of a group of local enthusiasts, coupled with the financial support of the county council and many of its councillors, the show had been saved.

I thank everyone for the experience and express the hope that long may the show continue into the future.

In my view it is essential that events and activities of this nature, which reflect the heritage and culture of the county, must be secured.

Well done to everyone concerned and I look forward to attending an even bigger and better show next year. - Geoff Stephenson, West Auckland.

KENNETH BIGLEY

THE deafening silence of Tony Blair regarding hostage Kenneth Bigley's plight at the hands of Iraqi terrorists is now unacceptable. Even with Kenneth's sobbing mother pleading for her son's life, Mr Blair still does not appear on camera with an official statement. Where was he?

Was he holding a meeting with the now forgiven IRA/Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuiness. If, as proven, he can do deals with terrorists, then he can save the life of Kenneth Bigley. - Mark Anderson, Middleton St George.

Tony Blair has ignored pleas from both an innocent man and his family. Would he have done the same if it were his son, Euan for example? I think not.

The reason Mr Bigley is in his position is that Mr Blair went into a country on the premise that its people would be free from Saddam Hussein and also to find weapons of mass destruction.

This was a smoke-screen created by George Bush so that he can keep Iraq's oil. If Messrs Bush and Blair were the good Christians they say they are, how come they allow bloodshed in Israel and Palastine? The answer: there's nothing there in the form of profit. - Darren Metcalfe, Darlington.

TONY Blair is Mr Bush's Yes Man, like a puppet. Mr Blair knew a year before the invasion of Iraq there would be senseless casualties in pursuit of Bush's oil. Pull our troops out of Iraq now and let Bush sort it out. - BM Johnson, Bedale.

JUSTICE

THE Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf lives in another world. He should be replaced by someone capable of giving the public more protection with sentences to match the crimes committed. The only way to solve our problems is to build more prisons instead of being soft on crime. - N Tate, Darlington.