20/09/05

Turkey has a number of human rights problems, the main one being the position of the Kurdish part of the population. No country can join the EU until it can sign up to the EU treaties.

The desire to join the EU has caused Turkey to set out to resolve these problems. This will take a number of years to achieve. Meanwhile, there are voices of opposition to Turkish membership.

Some people want to disregard the multicultural multi-religious makeup of Europe. They cannot see that the basic religious ideas of Christians and Muslims are similar.

Having Turkey as a member of the EU extends the peaceful influence of the organisation into one of the most troubled areas of the world. Turkey's membership will have a similar long-term influence on its eastern neighbours, just as the original group of EU countries had on theirs.

Let us have the patience and conviction to see this development through. - Bill Morehead, Darlington.

FREE TRAVEL

I AGREE with TC Herries in asking your paper to help our pensioners to get free bus passes from Darlington Borough Council (HAS, Sept 15).

Mr Herries and his wife served our country during the Second World War and it is people like them who my heart goes out to.

The least the pensioners should receive is a free bus pass. The £80 that they annually spend on bus travel could be put to better use in helping them buy food or pay household bills.

With the local council always giving handouts to asylum seekers who arrive in Darlington, I am sure that its vast budget would be able to allow our noble pensioners the deserved right to travel free of charge on buses in and around the town.

If The Northern Echo ever decides to raise the profile of this topic, then I and many others will stand beside you in the quest to bring better standards of living for our elderly folk. - Christopher Wardell, Darlington.

WEST PARK HOSPITAL

RE the reporting of the escape of a patient from West Park Hospital (Echo, Sept 10).

Rethink is a national charity which supports anyone affected by the most severe forms of mental illness.

Rethink's success in County Durham has been due in no small part to the support of Barry Nelson, The Northern Echo Health Editor, and his very responsible and well informed articles on mental health issues.

So it was bitterly disappointing to read the article by Liz Lamb about an incident at Cedar Ward at West Park Hospital in Darlington. The article will have done much to reinforce the common misconception that mental illness and violence are linked.

Violence is not a symptom of severe mental illness and the proportion of homicides committed by people with a psychiatric diagnosis has fallen steadily over the past 40 years.

Cedar Ward is not a prison but a specialist unit to treat those who need the greatest help.

West Park Hospital, highly valued by Rethink members, is also recognised nationally as an example of the very best therapeutic environment demonstrating clearly that here in Durham mental health has rightly been made a priority.

This is the message the Echo would promote if it is to maintain its tradition of reputable campaigning. - Valerie Minns, Rethink County Durham.

LEN SHACKLETON

A FEW days ago you published a list of players who had made an impact on their debuts for Newcastle United, but you omitted one who I think outshone all the others.

It was in 1945 or 1946 that Len Shackleton made his first appearance. It was against Newport County.

Newcastle won 13 goals to nil, and if my memory serves me correctly Shack scored six.

I was there that day, and believe me, I thought he could walk on water after that performance. It was without a doubt the finest individual performance I have ever seen. - J Fitzpatrick, Trimdon Grange.

HEALTH TRUSTS

ALAN Milburn wants the Labour Government to push its reform programme "further and faster" if it wants to win a historic fourth term in office.

Yet the same Alan Milburn is vociferous in resisting reforms when they affect his constituency of Darlington.

Many of us are unhappy about the proposal to replace the local Primary Care Trusts with one big one for the whole of County Durham (Echo, Sept 14).

We have only just got the Easington PCT up and running, and have established very good working relationships with the local authority. For the first time the funding we need is coming into the area, and significant advances are being made in public health because the council and PCT are working together.

Exactly the arguments that Alan Milburn is putting for retaining a PCT for Darlington.

A large PCT would be remote and unaccountable, and some of our funding could be at risk in a larger organisation. In any case the staff do not want to be reorganised yet again. "Further and faster reform" is not an end in itself, but providing good services to the public is. I hope you will be shouting for the other PCTs in County Durham Alan. - David Taylor-Gooby, Peterlee.

ALLOTMENT ROW

I WOULD like to reply to R Lewis's letter (HAS, Sept 10) regarding our allotment site and the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners.

The first we knew of the sale of allotments was someone measuring the site and quoting £30,000 to one of our allotment holders.

We have had nothing in writing from Durham County Council at all. In fact, we had to pay the agents for purchasing a package like everyone else.

R Lewis mentions NSALG and our joint secretary is actually a member himself and we wrote to NSALG regarding the sale of the site. We were advised that all our members should join, which we have duly done over three weeks ago, but have yet to hear from them regarding legal advice etc.

The closing date for tenders is September 30, 2005. Several people have shown an interest in our site including making it a market garden selling plants etc (in the adjoining plot which is also for sale), travellers looking for somewhere to park mobile homes etc and someone who wants the land for horses to graze.

People have worked this land for 50 plus years. We have gardeners from Newton Aycliffe, Middridge and Shildon, yet no one from Sedgefield Council is interested.

We think it has probably got something to do with new housing estate being built at Spout Lane, Shildon. - H Palmer, Joint Secretary, Middridge Allotment Association.

TOWN TOILETS

BEING a regular visitor to Bishop Auckland, I find the toilets very poor with only one at the bus station and one at the theatre corner, which is a pay loo.

Years ago there used to be an underground toilet in the .Market Place, which was very convenient.

The one at the bus station is quite a long walk for anyone with bad legs. Could there not be a toilet built in the Market Place or near at hand? - J Race, Bishop Auckland.