Your letters

I WAS very pleased that The Northern Echo published an article to draw the attention of the public to what is happening in Spennymoor Cow Plantation Nature Reserve (Echo, Sept 29).

I was more than pleased to read Councillor Joan Wood admit: "I know we do have a problem with the horses." The reason I am pleased is because I have been telling Coun Wood and other officials about the damage in the nature reserve for over four months.

The problem is not the horses. It's Councillor Wood and her colleagues who not only allowed the horses into the reserve, but also after the damage was reported did nothing to stop it.

If the horses had been immediately banned from the nature reserve, most of the food and shelter that wildlife depend on would have been saved.

Coun Wood and her colleagues are supposed to protect the nature reserve and the wildlife that lives there; so far their efforts have been disastrous to wildlife.

The problem could be solved immediately by removing the horses from the nature reserve. - PL Walton, Spennymoor.

AFTER reading the article on the Cow Plantation (Echo, Sept 29) and Councillor Joan Wood's comments, I noticed she failed to mention a few facts.

In April, Spennymoor Town Council paid for a report on the effect horses would have on wildlife and plants that live in the Cow Plantation. Coun Wood failed to say why the council did not wait for the report to be published before allowing horses into the reserve.

What if the report recommended no grazing. Surely the sensible thing to do would have been to wait for the report?

If the report was not to be acted on, why waste money having it written?

On September 25, the Cow Plantation Committee held a meeting. Coun Wood said the grazing of horses in the plantation had been a disaster, a very different view than she had four days later in the Echo.

As for making the nature reserve a better place, some of the paths can now not be used, as they have been churned into mud and where there was once flowers all that is left are piles of manure.

What was once a pleasant place to visit has been ruined for people and wildlife.

How anyone could think that by allowing horses into a nature reserve to destroy the food and shelter that wildlife depend on would be beneficial is beyond me. - J Robinson, Spennymoor.

I AGREE with Mr Walton (Echo, Sept 29) that Spennymoor Town Council has acted like environmental vandals by the way it has looked after the Cow Plantation.

I have being going to the plantation for years but I have never seen it in such a state, in places it has been turned into a mud bath.

If this is Coun Wood's idea of looking after a public amenity, she has in my opinion failed miserably. Coun Wood and her fellow members on the Cow Plantation sub committee have not made the nature reserve a better place or protected it.

By their efforts it is obvious these people have very little knowledge of how to manage a nature reserve and less of the needs of wildlife.

A place as important and special as a nature reserve should be protected and cared for.

I think some committee members should consider taking a back seat and allow people with the necessary skill and knowledge to take over the management of the Cow Plantation Nature Reserve. - G Riley, Spennymoor.

Darlington FC

SO Darlington Football Club chairman, George Reynolds, will not be going to Hartlepool Football Club ground again because he claims "he is scared and it frightened his wife".

It is a pity that Darlington Borough Council did not consider their residents in the Neasham Road area, who will have no option but to face similar fans every Saturday. We will not have the same privilege to stay away.- Mrs J Bowes, Darlington.

EURO

THE Danes have set us an example by telling their government through a referendum that they do not want the euro.

They have realised the dangers of losing their national identity by further integration into Europe. Well done, the Danes, for proudly standing up for who you are.

If only Tony Blair was brave enough to let the people of Britain speak in the same way now, not at some future date when he hopes the gullible will have been duped into believing the euro is the only future for us. It is not the strength of the pound that is the problem, it is the weakness of the euro. - EA Moralee, Billingham.

AS usual the anti-euro brigade is lying through its teeth when they crow about the Danish rejection vote.

Denmark has a tiny economy and the simple truth is the Danish krone is already tied to the euro - it was a political decision not an economic one.

When we come to vote on the euro it will be a matter of economic survival not a flag waving gesture. - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

FUEL COSTS

FUEL duty is levied as a fixed amount per litre. Would it be feasible to charge VAT on fuel in the same way rather than on a percentage basis?

This would benefit the motorist because increases in the pretax cost of fuel would not be aggravated by increases in VAT.

The Treasury would no longer benefit from a windfall from every unexpected increase in the price of crude oil, but revenue from petrol sales could be accurately predicted and protected from any shortfall in the event of a drop in crude oil prices. - Pete Winstanley, Chester-le-Street.

POLITICS

DESPITE denials by the Government it is evident to all in the North of England that the region is in recession.

The combined effects of a strong pound and high transport costs make it impossible for manufacturing industries to compete. The job losses in clothing and other industries in this region are a direct consequence of government policy.

The Labour Party may rely on this region for votes but it is becoming clear that we cannot rely on it. - C Watson, Darlington.

HERE we go again. At Bournemouth we had the Tories under the leadership of William Hague the Vague promising all the things they could not provide or took away from us in the 18 years they were in office.

Last week we had Blair the Eclair - all soft and gooey, leading 'New' Labour, giving us his marshmallow speech. It looks a lot but goes away to nothing, promising all the things he promised before the last election and has failed to fulfill.

As for that other party, oh yes - the Liberal Democrats under some sort of leadership. I can't really remember whether they have had their conference yet.

Oh dear, what a state we are in. The political parties think they have problems, what about the poor electors? We may as well toss a coin.

By the way, did you notice during the fuel protest how Tony Blair and his gang went scuttling off to concoct some sort of scheme to prevent another blockade?

Not to find a solution to the ever increasing tax problem but to protect their own rear ends. - AL Rowntree, Wigginton, York.

IT'S about time Tony Blair removed his designer rose tinted spectacles and looked at the Big Picture (a new Labour saying). He is in grave danger of losing the next election because he is not listening to the general public about fuel charges and now the state pension.

Mr Blair and the rest of the Cabinet have had adequate warning from the "grey hair brigade" over numerous years about the pitiful state pension and the equally derisory 75p rise.

But the main worry if Labour lose the next election is what is waiting in the wings, namely William Hague and the Conservatives who make statements (Echo, Oct 2) like "increased pensions and no gimmicks" and "there would be £4 per week more for pensioner couples under 75".

At the same time, they want to axe the Christmas bonus and the winter fuel payment of £160 per year. This equates to an increase of 92p per week. Big deal Mr Hague.

Then to top it all, Mrs Thatcher is interviewed on her entrance to the Conservative Party Conference at Bournemouth and makes a statement to the effect 'since people have paid their National Insurance contributions, they are entitled to a better state pension'.

This is rich coming from an ex Prime Minster whose party decided to link the state pension to prices rather than wages. - AL Carter, Marske, Redcar.