Sponsored by
Letters, Thursday, March 20, 2008
Readers write to the Times & Citizen and Bedford Today.
School worthy of my trust in caring for my children
SIR – Re: 'Fury as boy, 6, skips school' (T&C, March 13). I too would be concerned if my son had chosen to make his own way out of the school against the express wishes of the staff and caused the teachers a good deal of heartache and disrupted the busy schedule in a school that is efficiently looking after 450-plus pupils.
I would personally escort him to school to apologise for the
inconvenience caused and seek to work with the school to help prevent him being in circumstances that lead to him feeling the need to leave in this way.
Goldington Green Lower School is an excellent learning environment in which my daughter has thrived and my son, who is due to start there after Easter, will equally feel safe and be nurtured to reach his full potential.
My evidence; three stories that punctuate the day-to-day care and attention afforded to all children at the school which are indicative of the 'walk the extra mile' mentality of the staff:
1. Play buddies project: a squad of Year 4 students were trained in how to run activities in the playground in order to help pupils who might feel lonely or marginalised to have stimulating activities with friends.
2. Safer routes to school: the school leadership team toiled for hours to prepare a document that was instrumental in helping convince the budget holders at County Hall that a crossing was needed in Barkers Lane to enable families to cross a dangerous road safely.
3. Dance club: the tireless efforts of staff using their own time to prepare 40 girls to dance at the Bedfordshire Festival of Music, Speech and Drama where they achieved a distinction and won the Challenge Shield with a dance entitled Storm In A Forest.
These three stories are the tip of the iceberg and prove conclusively to me that Goldington Green Lower School is worthy of my trust in caring for my children!
Gary Richardson
Barkers Lane, Bedford
****
Mixed feelings about demise of brickworks
SIR – I read with mixed feelings about the demise of the brickworks at
Stewartby. As I child I spent many happy days in Stewartby with my grandparents, and even today, and knowing what a pollutant it is, the smell of the chimney smoke brings back good memories of those times. My grandfather, Jack Kitchiner, ran the swimming pool for many years; occasionally today I still meet people he taught to swim.
I remember on windless days the smuts from the chimneys used to
settle on the surface of the water (unheated when I first used it), and the martins which nested under the eaves. Walking to the little kiosk there for a hot chocolate meant your feet would often end up covered in soot and bird droppings!
David Kitchiner
by email
****
Happy memories as company photographer
SIR – I have very many happy memories of my working days at London Brick Company and am extremely sorry to learn of the closure of Stewartby works.
I found it an excellent company to work for, with great friendliness among my colleagues. I was company photographer until my retirement 25 years ago, and on one occasion took photographs of all the production force at the Stewartby works. Even today, after retirement, and now in my 90th year, I am often greeted by some of those employees I photographed all those years ago.
At Christmas time the company provided an excellent lunch, during which the chairman, Sir Ronald Stewart, presented clocks to those employees who had given 50 years' service, and it was a real pleasure to be present on those occasions to photograph those events.
George Thompson
Muswell Road, Bedford
****
Outgoing CEO's actions bad example to young
SIR – For those of us brought up in the trade union movement, who always believed it was 'them and us', the bosses trying to get as much as possible for as little as possible, and the worker trying to get a fair day's pay for a fair day's work, County Hall's chief executive Andrea Hill wraps it up totally.
While she was prepared to spend thousands of pounds of council
taxpayers' money, leading her staff into believing they could save their jobs, she was off feathering her own nest.
I don't blame her for securing her own future, but I do condemn her for giving relatively low-paid workers false hope. People like her are the
reason why the young do not respect authority.
Tim Westwood
Brickhill Drive, Bedford
****
Last chance to appeal planning application
SIR – The people of Bromham who wrote to protest last August about the proposed development of four houses in the rear of three gardens in Grange Lane, we thank you very much.
Originally, a minority of us had been notified by Bedford Borough Council of an outline application, involving the demolition of an
individually-built bungalow to allow access, on a dangerous bend, near a very popular lower school in a narrow lane, and the sale of parts of two neighbouring gardens for four large detached dwellings.
Grange Lane is a very busy shortcut from the A6 to gain access to and from Milton Keynes, the motorway and Northampton. It is always very congested, not only at school drop-off and pick-up times.
This is a new appeal and it is crucial we work hard again, because this appeal goes to the Secretary of State.
Bedford Borough Council and Bromham Parish Council have both opposed this proposal.
We need your letters, every one counts. You can duplicate your
original letter, but it is important to write. If this development goes ahead, it will affect our water, gas and electricity supplies.
It will destroy beautiful wildlife and the biodiversity – Bromham is on a floodplain. With more block paving for hardstanding, the water run-off will flood adjacent gardens and have a knock-on effect.
This overbearing impact will destroy the heart of a beautiful
riverside village and be completely out of character.
The power of the written word in letter form was noted by the
planners. Over 50 letters were received. Let us double that at least and keep working against developments in Grange Lane, Molivers Lane and New Road. Let us work as a village united and keep Bromham green.
This is our last chance to appeal and, if planning was granted, this would be only the tip of the iceberg, and similar developments would be proposed.
Please write before April 3, sending three copies, including any
photographs, and quoting the appeal reference number WO205/A/08/2066092/NWF to: The Planning Inspectorate, 3-16 Eagle Wing, Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Temple Quay, Bristol, BS1 6PN.
You can also have your say at a meeting of Bromham Parish Council, to be held at Bromham Village Hall at 7.30pm on April 1.
Mary Morris, Grange Lane, Bromham;
and Sandie Simpson, Neville Crescent, Bromham
****
Council tax levy should be adjusted accordingly
SIR – What was interesting about your report on the appointment of a new assistant chief constable was that the appointment would be partly funded by the saving of a superintendent post. It is only a few weeks since it was reported that the council tax precept for policing would be increased by ten per cent to enable a new ACC to be appointed. Can we now see that extra ten per cent reduced to cover just the 124,000 needed to make up the cost of the new ACC?
It seems to me that the police service is 're-organised' every three years or so, and that the public is told that this will lead to an improvement in service.
I look forward to seeing even an occasional police officer on the beat in Ampthill, in addition to the motorised courier service which seems to exist between Ampthill and Bedford.
Brian Page
Cedar Close, Ampthill
****
Pupils' credit to their school and to Kempston
SIR – I attended a wonderful performance of Oliver put on by students of Hastingsbury Upper School last week. The students obviously worked very hard, both in performing and playing in the orchestra. As I enjoyed the evening, I couldn't help but think about the bad press our young people so often get, but these youngsters were a credit to Kempston and their school. Well done students and staff.
Name and address supplied
****
Green travel options lost with new station plan
SIR – Greens welcome the idea of putting the main entrance to the
railway station back at Midland Road (T&C, March 13). But the designs on display at the station and at www.investinbedford.com are a
spectacularly bad way to do that.
The scheme is a recipe for massive traffic jams. The idea of putting all the car and cycle parking on the other side of the railway, off Ford End Road, is daft. Cyclists would also have to brave the traffic in Ford End Road to get to cycle parking that is further from the platforms than the main entrance.
There also aren't any plans for new cycle routes away from the main roads. The result will be people put off taking the green travel option.
Putting the bus-rail 'interchange' in Ford End Road, on the Queens Park side of the railway, will mean bus stops that Stagecoach won't want to use. Because the plans are to shut the current station entrance, the
proposals will also mean that the station is further away from the X5 stops that currently service the station, in Bromham Road. Fewer
people will take the green travel option of the bus to get to the station.
All told, the plans make for a less usable railway station. Greens encourage readers to respond to Binal Karia, the consultation manager at Halcrow Group, on 01733 560033 or Kariab@halcrow.com.
Ben Foley
Green party
Spenser Road, Bedford
****
Party funds for charity
SIR – On Saturday, March 1, Jane O'Connor and Sue Cakebread held a joint birthday party at the RAFA Club. Instead of cards and gifts,
donations and a raffle raised 795 for Bedford Daycare Hospice and Cancer Research UK. A big thank you to everyone who contributed.
Sue Cakebread
by email
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Bedford
Tuesday 14 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: North west
