Why moor burned

There was actually two separated burns on that day (March 29). Firstly controlled burns were at the north end near Scarth Nick, of which the biggest of several small fires was approximately 6-8 acres among dry heath and about 5pc of the area in question.

The second fire was lit by an unknown passer-by with no intent to put it out. This behaviour is nothing new in this well-visited area.

Luckily we were there and once we finished putting out our controlled burns we (with the help of a local farmer) brought it under control. We then extinguished the fire as the fire brigade arrived, with the help of one of our self-propelled water cannons.

Perhaps if the person who witnessed the two fires had poked their head through the smoke and offered to help, the arson fire might have been smaller and they could have been pleased with themselves doing some practical good, instead of writing letters full of half truths.

The arson fire was about approximately 20-30 acres and would have been bigger if we were not there.

If Mr Lindsay would like to see real evidence of the increasing strength of the forna and flora due to the massive privately-funded conservation efforts of shooting tenants, I would be more than willing to show him, as I believe we do have many things in common as far as protecting the countryside.

I could write about the safeguards put in place to protect the wildlife in the countryside (nesting birds before burning etc), but I have little spare time.

Please, Mr Lindsay, get your facts right before putting pen to paper. My team and I work hard every day to make the moor thrive with all wildlife as well as grouse. It's why we do the job.

I can agree with you on one point., The crowds of people threaten the delicate balance of nature and may destroy the attractiveness of the area..

J B SHUTTLEWOOD

Head Moor Keeper

Snilesworth and Whorlton Moors,

Snilesworth,

Hawnby.

Clock wise

Sir, - Your reader, Rod Hall (D&S, Apr 2), has put into writing the sentiments that I have held for many years regarding the outdated practice of changing the clocks twice a year.

I obviously have the benefit of age over Mr Hall as I remember clock changing in the Thirties, long before the Second World War. I have the idea that it was a First World War creation to allow the farmer later hours of daylight for harvesting but that might just have been a tale.

I do remember that during the Second World War, (and I seem to recall during the Fifties or Sixties,) we had Double Summer Time when we remained on BST during the winter months and added a further hour in the summer. That was supposed to save fuel as less power was used in the longer evenings. Whatever its original purpose I agree with Mr Hall that it is now an outdated practice.

Various reasons have been put forward in recent years for retaining the practice.

It has been suggested that children on their way to school or returning home were safer because of the changes. That seems to ignore the fact that there is a 40 minute difference between the sunrise time at Glasgow and London at the time of the winter solstice and that is probably even greater between the Shetland Isles and Lands End where the difference in longitude also has an effect.

Another excuse that has been put forward is that businesses need to keep in touch with continental customers and suppliers. It was even suggested a few years ago that we fall into line with continental clocks.

How then do businesses in the USA manage when there are up to five different time zones across the continent? They seemed to cope perfectly well even before modern electronic communication methods. Even the Iberian Peninsula has two different time zones with Portugal working to GMT but Spain, which straddles the Greenwich meridian, adopts European time. Spain even has two time zones as the Canary Islands also adopt GMT.

These facts may not appear very relevant to the argument for or against changing the clocks. But they do reinforce Mr Hall's argument for those people who have a need, real or perceived, to get up one hour earlier during the summer months to change their lifestyle without inconveniencing the majority of people who I believe would rather have that extra hour in bed, even though they went to bed an hour later.

JOHN W CARTER

Yarborough Close,

Tunstall,

Richmond.

Does code work?

Sir, - There is a strong perception among farmers that the code of practice intended to protect them from the overwhelming power of big supermarkets is simply not working.

The Office of Fair Trading reported in February that 80-85pc of respondents felt the code hadn't changed anything since it was introduced in 2002. More worryingly, 73pc said they would not use the code to protect themselves for fear of losing contract, being de-listed and losing business.

Farmgate prices have been ratcheted down, as thousands of farmers leave the land, unable to sustain their business. Meanwhile supermarkets continue to announce record profits.

Trade Minister Gerry Sutcliffe MP has agreed to meet me following a recent debate. I called on him to strengthen the Code and change the system so suppliers can make anonymous complaints. The date for the meeting has now been set for April 27.

I would like farmers, producer groups and suppliers' organisations to contact me with details of any evidence they have to contribute to a strictly confidential dossier I intend to hand to the Minister to help him consider what changes to make.

Please write to me at the House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.

ANDREW GEORGE MP

Liberal Democrat Shadow Rural Affairs Secretary.

Green monsters

Sir, - I refer to Simon Widd's letter (D&S, Apr 2) on the money wasted by Hambleton District Council with its green bin collections.

A few years ago, I and many others were persuaded by Hambleton to purchase from the council a green compost bin to relieve the collection service, and retain our garden and kitchen vegetable waste to be used on our gardens at no cost to the council or other ratepayers.

Now it seems that without residents being consulted, a green wheelie bin has been purchased for every household in the district, be they needed or not.

Fortunately these green monsters have not yet invaded our area of Romanby.

H H DYSON

Helmsley Way,

Romanby,

Northallerton.

4x4 facts

Sir, - I would like to respond to the article on off-road recreational vehicles (D&S, Mar 26).

Janet Davies of the Ramblers'Association is quoted as saying the RA is not trying to ban off-road motoring yet their web site is quoted as telling all its members to push hard as this is the best opportunity to stop all off-road vehicular activity.

I have encountered the same negative stance at the rights of way bodies I sit on across the north of England.

Perhaps a little perspective on the subject would be helpful. Currently off-road vehicles have access to 5pc of the recreational network, which at the last count was about 6,000 miles, leaving ramblers 134,000 miles of rights of way they need not share with other users. If one was to include proposed open access areas the percentage would fall below 3pc.

The RA and other walking pressure groups currently wield a disproportional amount of influence in national government and intend to use this to further their ultimate aims of preventing non-walking users access to the countryside.

A more vocal member of the Dales pressure group was quite happy to be quoted "banning vehicles is not the end, but the beginning, bicycles will be our next target."

Lastly, a few interesting facts not mentioned in the article. The closure of the roads in the Yorkshire Dales National Park had over 500 people respond to the county council's proposals. Over 300 opposed the closures. When national parks, county council and vehicular user groups work together, work is carried out to preserve and improve the small network of vehicular rights of way left in England.

The lane pictured in your article is the county road from Hawnby to Fangdale Beck which has been closed to recreational vehicles for almost 10 years.

LEO CRONE

Shearwater Avenue,

Darlington.

Disgusted

Sir, - I read Coun Oliver Blease's letter (D&S, Apr 2) with great interest and the valid points he made, but also with disgust at what our councillors are doing.

They talk of the district council raping the town of its treasures, and then in their own devious way they rape the town hall.

Richmondians are and always have been proud of our town hall and its Magistrates Court, the councillors are only caretakers of our possessions. To take away the Royal Coat of Arms board from its present position would be sacrilege, the reasons being given are not strong enough.

If having endured years of sunlight pouring through the windows why should it change now, have the rays of sun changed? I think not.

The town hall has looked like "Willy's Workhouse" for the past year. Whilst congratulations can be given on the installation of the new lift - a great asset, and the new boiler and heating system - please councillors don't spoil this by moving the Coat of Arms board. Coun Blease deserves a medal for his letter and I am sure he will receive the backing of many of the townspeople.

Councillors swear to uphold the honour, dignity, traditions and beauty of our town, so why are they destroying the dignity of our town hall? What next, the castle keep turned into flats and a car park? Many people thought my last letter had my husband's stamp written all over it, well I can assure you it did not, and this one most certainly has not.

I am a Richmondian, born and bred, and have a deep love for the town and its people, but at the present time I have not much respect for its councillors, many of whom are incomers, who should take the time to familiarise themselves with the town's history and traditions.

As most of them are Liberal Democrats, a party which purports to listens to the people and also believes in their active participation in local affairs, when are they going to listen to us and not try to rule by dictat?

C Y WILCOX

High Riding,

Richmond.

Be informed

Sir, - I was disturbed to read (D&S Mar 26) that a spokesman for North Yorkshire County Council considered that by attending the CBA-hosted conference on quarrying and archeology which was held in Northallerton last Saturday, elected members of the council could have to declare an interest on the planning committee.

Surely it is essential for members of any planning committee to acquaint themselves with all of the relevant facts, and this excellent conference would have been a golden opportunity for them to do so.

It is a pity the county council did not exercise similar caution when members of the planning committee were invited to visit any award winning restored quarry set hard up against our northern henge. A letter from the environmental services department of the council says: "Indeed, members of the planning committee were very impressed when they undertook a site visit to both Manfield and Nosterfield during the summer and met field personnel".

Why does the county council not seek to restrain its own officers from constantly publicising and promoting the benefits to nature conservation of its own quarry restoration strategy?

All I ask for is a level playing field, and I would advise all interested parties that democratic debate is dependent on truthfulness and open information.

R J LONSDALE

Nosterfield,

Bedale.

In the dark

Sir, - Reference the D&S report on the exclusion of Coun Pelton from a meeting because he is the only SDP councillor (Mar 26), may I point out that had my health been better at the last election I might well have made an effort to secure a district seat, and then there would have been two of us.

As it is, myself and other SDP members who were hoping for feedback are being kept in the dark.

I would like to know who authorised Coun Blackie to impede knowledge to any councillor or elector, regardless of their political leanings.

The public should not forget that it was not long ago that Coun Blackie changed his allegiance, from being an Independent to joining the Conservatives presumably to enhance his own future prospects.

BETTY ROBERTSON

Vicarage Road,

Hipswell.

Positive alternative

Sir, - Not since 1688 have the British addressed the simple question "How, and by whom, do we wish to be governed?" I will wager that the majority of those asked will say "Not by the EU from Brussels".

Bearing in mind that Mr Blair is hell-bent on making sure we comply with the EU Constitution, and no longer free to govern our own country, or run our own lives, it poses the question what can be done to redress the situation?

There is little to choose between the three major parties' stance on being subjugated by Brussels. However, I believe that Britain's fourth largest and burgeoning party, the United Kingdom Independence Party, does offer a positive alternative, and its manifesto deserves serious consideration.

Rather than sit back, whinge, and do nothing, I have joined then UKIP and hope to see its Yorkshire region candidate win a seat at the forthcoming European elections in June 2004.

CLIVE WOOD

Darlington Road,

Richmond.