Letters: A better place?

Whilst the Leyburn residents are very near the present and proposed new building, there is a much wider area where patients are isolated and have long distances to travel to consult a GP at Leyburn. Middleham, East Witton, Harmby, West Scrafton, Carlton, Horsehouse - the list is endless.

Therefore would it not be better to site this facility on the Leyburn Business Park - buses pass by regularly and so Leyburn people would not need to walk and, as usual, people from outlying villages would drive there.

For a long time we have had an over-loaded medical service in this area and what is really needed is another medical practice at this side of the River Ure and based in Middleham, as it used to be.

However, if funds are not available I feel the business park would offer a useful alternative. The centre must be larger than the proposed one with every facility under one roof. Parking for the ambulance which now lies in wait in Leyburn Market Place could be provided.

It is also vital to have a physiotherapy unit available within the medical centre. When you have joint and muscle problems you do not wish to hobble from site to site and which can sometimes entail a long hike through the town. The models of new-build medical centres which already exist in Northallerton and Colburn should be followed closely.

Middleham is the centre of a prospering and quite dangerous industry - racing - and falls from horses can result in skeletal injuries. At the moment treatment can be a 'hit and miss' affair, sometimes air ambulances are available, sometimes a private car has to be called into service to transport injured riders to the Friarage.

We need a medical centre with x-ray facilities, so that our GPs would become more independent and be able to diagnose on the spot how serious injuries are. The best solution would be to have a cottage hospital, similar to the Friary at Richmond, something Wensleydale has needed for many, many years.

I remember Darlington Memorial Hospital being built with the help of Wensleydale people, maybe now is the time local councils should consider this again. In the meantime I urge interested parties to think big and look at the business park in Leyburn.

AUDREY WAUDBY

Westwood House,

Middleham.

Sir, - We refer to your report on plans for the Leyburn Medical Centre (D&S, Nov 15).

The association wholeheartedly supports improved medical facilities but it is important that a site is found which is of a suitable size. Normal planning considerations and planning policy must be observed. Speculative financial interests should not be an issue, nor should we lose sports facilities.

The association was formed to safeguard local amenities and we responded to this planning proposal as consultees. We were not approached by the couple who refer to us as an "undemocratic group".

It is true that one would always like to be more democratic but the reality is that not everyone is prepared to put in the same amount of work for the public good. We have always communicated actively with all our members and have always welcomed comments or offers of help. Our affairs have been conducted in public in consultation with our elected representatives.

Perhaps the people of Leyburn could now be informed of the facts concerning the proposed sale of their public property, the tennis courts. These are most important issues which require thorough examination and we should not proceed on an emotional basis. There are better sites, all within about 800 yards of the town centre.

G KANE

Chairman, Brentwood Area

Residents' Association

Brentwood,

Leyburn.

Sir, - It is not surprising that an eight-metre high industrial building in a residential area of bungalows attracts objections, regardless of its purpose, The Brentwood site has been proposed by a property speculator from Newcastle, because he can obtain the land relatively cheaply, thus maximising his profits.

The tennis courts were a private gift to the people of Leyburn and have been a public sports facility ever since. Better sites are available for a medical centre within half a mile or less of the present surgery but they have been rejected by the developer because he does not want to pay the market value for the land.

A larger site would allow a centre to be built where all facilities could be accommodated under one roof and where expansion for an expanding community could be guaranteed for at least the next three decades.

The centre would not just serve Leyburn but also the surrounding areas. Richmond has such facilities and I see no reason why we too should not have the best available to us instead of a compromise.

Planners also have their doubts about the suitability of the Brentwood site and have asked for further studies to be undertaken.

The couple referred to in the article objected not so long ago to a much-needed transformer station which was to be built at the back of their garden.

The Brentwood Area Residents' Association gave them its support and managed to persuade the electricity company to find another site serving east Leyburn. Ironically this has now been shelved because of the medical centre.

SARAH BORMAN

Brentwood,

Leyburn.

Honesty does pay

Sir, - Two young boys aged about 16 recently made my day. As I was getting home on the bus in Stokesley, these two boys handed a mobile phone to the driver. It had been left on the bus. I thought it was good of them. Honesty does pay.

C ANGUS

Stokesley.