Letters to the Editor

We, and the Riverside residents, have seen three things since the last 1992 £3m flood defence was put in, which materially affect the protection. We have dutifully and persistently over the years told the agency, Stockton and Yarm councils, and anyone else who might have influence but - eyes wide shut!

Since the agency stopped its safety workers removing trees and debris form the upper banks of the Tees, and the barrage stopped the tides which disturbed the tree trunks damming the bridge arches, large potential dams have built up on both bridge and viaduct during floods which have not been removed but left to leave a very dangerous potential dam.

The agency has not re-established the primary safety teams or arranged a secondary emergency removal scheme.

Since the barrage was put in operation, the river water level at Yarm has been above the gabions and bank protection (only put in by the agency in 1992). We have seen the banks eroding ever since.

Coun Monck told Yarm civic society that the river paths needed safety fencing in places owing to the lack of river bank protection, but the agency has included nothing in the new scheme to protect the river further from erosion.

When the last wall was built in 1992, the contractor was seen to be taking short cuts; the agency had no supervision on site. The failure to check and eliminate these weaknesses was costed by the agency at £500,000, and was a prime reason for the £3m cost of the 1999 scheme.

At the public meetings this was pointed out to the agency. It said this time it had learned from the 1992 experience and it would have site supervision and check the site contractor.

We do not see any agency site personnel.

Is the second £3m scheme in less than ten years to suffer again from a lack of proper control?

R W SUNLEY

West Street,

Yarm.

Bright ideas

Sir, - With reference to the article about the Christmas lights in Stokesley (D&S Dec 7), I would like to make the following points.

With the demise of the business association, Stokesley pride in our town was asked by the parish council to co-ordinate a team to organise this year's Christmas lights. It is not involved in the lights in any way financially.

The team of six has been on a very steep learning curve trying to find out about Christmas lights now and for the future. We have had two fundraising events for the funds and some local businesses have already given us donations to start the ball rolling.

The parish council is paying for the replacement bulbs and the electricity for this year's lights. Churches Together, with sponsorship from Quorn, is organising a tree and lights on West Green.

There has been a competition for the best Christmas window to help encourage the local shops to brighten up the middle of town.

The lights team has only been in existence for a short time but we have lots of ideas for the future. We want to make Stokesley the place to come and shop for Christmas and enjoy the lights!

HEATHER ATKINSON

Stokesley Christmas lights team.

Lack-lustre lights

Sir, - I felt I must put fingers to keyboard to express my sadness that once again Northallerton Christmas lights do not impress. Even the lights in Ripon have more about them and that is a much smaller place.

Surely, with all the money that Tesco is getting from the residents of Northallerton and the surrounding area, a donation to purchase some more upbeat lights and, say, a yearly sum to pay for the electricity and putting them up would not be too much to ask.

Why should the likes of Maxwell's and Barker's be the only ones to cough up?

I hope someone with some say reads this letter and does something about it. Even if it is too late for this year, Christmas 2002 is not far away.

MRS FRANCES ATKINSON

Brompton Banks,

Brompton,

Northallerton.

What a treat

Sir, - We write to say what a wonderful Victorian Christmas fair was presented on Saturday at Masham.

It had everything: a costume, a fairground organ, a roast chestnut seller, high quality craft stalls, novelty stalls, a barrel organ, delicious refreshments and an entertaining band of hand bell ringers. Above all, it had atmosphere. You really felt the clock had slipped back a century.

We enjoyed ourselves greatly and spent much more than we had intended!

H and W A FORSTER

Wellington Mews,

Ripon.

Team effort

Sir, - Could I thank everyone who helped with this year's Christmas lights switch on in Richmond.

The duck club for its wonderful display in the Friary Gardens, the Round Table for the superb Christmas tree in the market place, Peter, Thomas, Greggs and Woodheads the Bakers, Cross View Caf and Teri Bell for supplying the delicious mince pies (not one was left), David Johnson for making the "not to be missed" punch, St Mary's church choir for the carols, electricians Kevan Allen and Mike Dale for all their hard work, Ken Warne's for sponsorship of the height gain equipment. Thanks also to Tricia Rogerson for performing the switch-on with the mayor.

Finally, thank you again to the people of Richmond whose support made it such a wonderful evening.

COUN LINDA CURRAN

Chairman of Christmas lights committee

COUN TOM BURROWS

Mayor of Richmond.

Reveal yourself

Sir, - In view of the fact that Middleham Town Council operates an open and very approachable administration, we were saddened to read R Parish's letter (D&S, Dec 7) containing so many errors of fact.

Towards the end of an expensive rural challenge period for Middleham Town Council, it was obliged, reluctantly, to take two, not three, legal actions, under the Local Government Act 1972, to protect its properties. Both action were successful with the defendants making out-of-court cash settlements.

The audit heading "administration" covers a wide area of activities and costs; all the usual things a council has to do, and includes the clerk's salary. The clerk, the council's responsible financial officer, is paid at a rate set annually by the National Association of Local Councils. Her hours, excluding her gratis 24-hour availability, compare favourably with those of a neighbouring council's clerk and more favourably still with those of the Key Centre's administration, as reported at a recent public meeting of Richmondshire resources committee.

Not all the projects came to fruition under the Middleham Key Partnership during the rural challenge, for example, R Parish's car park. However, the improved amenities that the council has gained require maintenance and greater administration expenditure than previously.

The councillors are also among those residents who give their time and energy voluntarily to help make Middleham the beautiful fascinating place that it is and which became a finalist in the recent village of the year competition.

The majestic but ruined Middleham Castle, symbol of the earlier undemocratic age that R Parish seems to favour, contains a Middleham Jewel that is not real. Are you real, R Parish? If so, reveal yourself. If your concerns are genuine, stand for council; we have a vacancy at the moment.

ANNE WILLIAMSON,

Chairman, MiddlehamTown Council

Castle Hill House,

Middleham.

Access for all

Sir, - Digital hearing aids have the power to revolutionise people's lives, yet the government and our local MP, Mr Alan Milburn, who controls the purse strings for health, is choosing to ignore the plight of two million hearing aid-users in the UK.

For too long, deaf and hard of hearing people have had to put up with poor quality aids on the NHS that belong back in the 70s and end up living in people's bedside drawers.

Campaigning by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People has seen the government agree to providing digital hearing aids at 20 NHS trusts around the country, using their buying power to drive down the cost from £2,500 to £150 per aid.

But perhaps Mr Milburn can explain why everyone can't have access to these digital aids at this special price and not just the privileged few?

MR C M DUNCAN

Squires Court,

Woodland Road,

Darlington.

Blighted by plans

Sir, - I write to ask how many of your readers, like me and my neighbours, are suffering from the plethora of planning applications to erect mobile telephone masts and their ancillary equipment next to their properties?

It would appear that all main roads are likely to suffer this equipment being installed at something like 2-3km intervals along their length without very much regard to the health risks from such equipment, the loss of property values arising from such worries and the general unsightliness of equipment towering over our countryside.

Are our planning authorities protecting us sufficiently?

J D BOREHAM

Pickhill,

Nr Thirsk.

Out of your league

Sir, - May I put a final addendum to Mr Wilson's letter (D&S, Nov 30) lecturing the Prime Minister on how to spell 'tomorrow'?

As a self-professed LibDem spokesman on the resurgence of crime in Thirsk, he is obviously unaware that the Home Secretary has allocated, on top of the £20m already given, another £6.1m for the maintenance of law and order and policing of our streets.

Not that it seems to have made much difference to the policing of Thirsk, where only last week there occurred a series of attempted break-ins, including Barclay's bank, and criminal and highly dangerous damage to Christmas illuminations.

I suggest that Mr Wilson confines his semi-professional views on the government to the same league he used to play in.

OLLY ANDRLA

Press officer,

Vale of York (North branch) Labour party.