Letters: County case

He used it as an excuse for making a bland, meaningless statement furthering the case of North Yorkshire as the main local authority. There was no ambiguity in your article and he made no comment on your final advice that North Yorkshire should start working now to stop the regional assembly bandwagon before it gets going.

He decried the possibility of districts, not yet formed, being able to meet the area's needs. What he did not mention was the abysmal rating that North Yorkshire County Council obtained last December in the Audit Commission league tables, which compared performance, organisation and standards in local government.

In this audit of 150 of the largest councils in the country, performances were examined which rated 22 as excellent, 54 as good, 39 as fair, 22 as weak and 13 as poor. Of adjacent areas, Hartlepool was in the "excellent" group, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire, Leeds, Bradford Middlesbrough, Stockton, Darlington and Durham were in the "good" group, whilst North Yorkshire only received a middle ranking in the "fair" group.

The report went on to say that the excellent and good councils would be allowed to get on with their affairs without inspection for three years, whereas Government inspectors will be focussing on the others to make them drive up their standards.

On what basis can Coun Weighell say that new districts could not provide a good service when North Yorkshire has been classified as an under-performing authority? Is this a good reason to retain the county?

He is wrong in stating that a large resource base, as operated by the county, would better serve the area. Resource bases, tailored to suit the needs of the individual areas could operate far more efficiently. After all we are talking about small domestic and business needs, not multi-national companies.

Who and what, he asks, would a unitary North Yorkshire County Council be remote from? He himself gives the answer, which is the people of that county. His letter shows that he is speaking for a county that has been found to be under-performing and he is ignoring the voice of district councils. He is also ignoring advice to fight, on behalf of the people he purports to represent, the creation of unitary authorities.

By what he said, and by what he didn't, he made a good case for the abolition of North Yorkshire County Council.

R L LAPPIN

Wainstones Close,

Great Ayton.

Warwick-shire

Sir, - Simon Warwick is the driving force behind the Lower Ure Conservation Trust (LUCT) which spearheads the Swale & Ure Washlands Project. It is largely funded by quarry companies and landfill tax and includes five quarry companies in its list of partners.

The LUCT was involved in the preparation of the Biodiversity Action Plan for the Swale and Ure Valleys.

In effect we have one man, with no formal qualifications to fit him for the task, having a huge influence over plans for the future of our land, based on wet restorations, resulting in the loss of farm land and our historic heritage.

The pro-quarry bias of the BAP appears to enable mineral extraction to take place in areas hitherto denied, with the added benefit of cheap "restorations".

This theft of our land echoes the feudal system and is hardly surprising in a county whose principal councils appear to be controlled by the squirearchy and business interests.

We do not want the Vale of Mowbray to become Yorkshire's version of the Norfolk Broads nor do we want it turning into "Warwick-Shire".

CLARE LINDLEY

Thornborough,

Bedale.

A talking shop

Sir, - So the Government has now made it clear what many of us have suspected for a long time - our North-East transport infrastructure is not going to be improved and we are not going to get a fairer share of funding from Government.

Even the most die-hard supporters of an elected regional assembly must now realise that it will be an empty talking shop.

A North East Assembly cannot deliver on public spending, it cannot deliver on transport and it would have no powers over education or health.

In fact, it would be of no benefit to anyone except the politicians who hope to get jobs in it. The proposal for a regional assembly is now even more clearly exposed as a sop to buy off the Labour Party.

The last thing our region needs now is more well paid politicians and a Geordie tax to pay for them. Power rests in Parliament and, until we have marginal seats in the North-East, Governments will pay little attention to the North-East.

In other words, the only way to secure a better deal is to vote in Members of Parliament who will champion this region - and kick out those who clearly do not care about us, like Tony Blair in Sedgefield for example.

JEREMY MIDDLETON

Spokesman, North East Conservatives

Newcastle.

Don't give in

Sir, - Whether it's hanging baskets at Saltburn, or public toilets at Whitby, there seems to be no shortage of anti-social individuals wanting to spoil or destroy - and the targets more often than not are things provided for public use or enjoyment.

Now we hear that the children's summer holiday fun sessions at Guisborough pool have suffered too. As well as having total sympathy for the children and their families caught up in this mindless behaviour, I feel for the staff at Guisborough.

As a regular customer of many years' standing I know how hard the staff there work to ensure everyone's safety and enjoyment.

We must all hope that this kind of loutish behaviour will not recur in any future holiday fun sessions. Also, and again as a regular customer, I hope very much that people continue using this clean and friendly pool which offers such a valuable service to all our community.

It deserves our support and, like the residents of Saltburn, we don't want to give in to the spoilers

(Mrs) Q J Owen

Askewdale,

Guisborough