LETTERS

10:30am Monday 28th April 2008

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WE WILL LOSE THE PRIVILEGE OF FREE PASSAGE SOON.

UNCONVINCED that traffic flow data provided by consultants to Shropshire County Council regarding Broadgate in particular was correct, I carried on a series of direct observations in which everything that passed through the arch was recorded and analysed at a later date.

Unless I have misinterpreted the way their figures have been presented, it would appear that their average daily totals for a 12 hour period would be unlikely if not impossible.

I am unable to confirm whether the Broadgate arch straddles the migratory route of a rare species of rat-eating toad. But I can confirm that if a minority of selfish drivers continue to act in the manner I have frequently witnessed, we will all loose the privilege of free passage in the near future.

For example applying lipstick while driving along; many examples of illegal telephone use; fast lead on approaches with the object of intimidating opposing vehicles.

The worst offence reversing out of Silk Mill Lane, backing into the arch, then shooting off up Broad Street over pedestrians behaving as though they have priority. There are no signs displayed to this effect - so they don't.

To be safe, be patient and use a lot of common sense. Vehicles arrive randomly and intermittently, there are plenty of opportunities to pass without a vehicle being close.

D J Davies,Stanton Road, Ludlow.

MONEY RAISED WILL HELP PROMOTE HUMAN RIGHTS.

THROUGH your columns may I thank most sincerely all those who helped with, or supported, the Amnesty International street collection in Ludlow town centre on Saturday, April 12.

I am delighted to report that a total of £487.11 was raised which will be used for the promotion of human rights and no expenses were incurred in connection with the collection.

S J Dalton, Promoter, Hereford Leominster Ludlow AI Group, Ashford Carbonel, Ludlow.

DON'T LET US SPOIL IT FOR THE VISITORS TO OUR TOWN.

I would like to question Mrs Jane Carroll's logic with regard to Bishop's Castle becoming a Walkers are Welcome' town.

Mrs Carroll was the only Bishop's Castle town councillor in favour of the biomass plant and yet two adjacent fields to the proposed site have footpaths across them, with stiles in the hedgerows for walkers.

People come from towns and cities outside this beautiful area for the air and scenery and yet Mrs Carroll feels that an incinerator in the heart of this beauty spot is okay.

Mrs Carroll, by all means let us encourage people into our town and surrounding area, but let us not spoil it for them and those who live here.

The sign at the entrance to the proposed biomass power plant site shows business park and businesses would be welcome bringing in work and prosperity to the area, but not Biomass. Yes Mrs Carroll, let's invite people into the town to experience the beauty we are surrounded by and make sure our pathways are available for all, but let us not have an incinerator burning 24/7 in the heart of our lovely land.

Gill Lawler, Brick Meadow, Bishops Castle.

NOT A SINGLE POLITICIAN OR A COUNCILLOR REPLIED.

I am grateful to Ian Leslie (Letters, April 10) for his advice to people who get tiny annual pension increases and face huge annual rises in council tax, heating fuel, etc.

I note that not a single MP, politician or councillor found the time or courage to respond to my challenge to offer any kind of solution.

I am afraid Mr Leslie's advice, although kindly meant, does not really solve the probem for many of us. My home is already fully insulated, but one still needs some heat in winter and on the many cold days during the rest of the year. And one has to be a near-pauper to be eligible for council tax benefit. Even a very small amount of savings, which most elderly people have, disqualifies you.

Mr Leslie is right that oil prices are driven by global forces; of course they are. But my point was not who is responsible for rising fuel costs. It was how small pension rises are expected to cope with them.

The dilemma remains: pensions rise by tiny amounts and bills for council tax, fuel etc rise astronomically. The two are incompatible, and if nothing is done about it, such bills will exceed pensions in not that many years.

Well, what can be done about it? Normally, I notice, politicians and councillors seem to like expressing their views in the Press. Have they no views on this?

I ought, incidentally, to reassure Mr Leslie that I am not a frequent correspondent. It was the first tme I had written to the paper. Like many pensioners who prefer not to advertise the fact that they live alone, I just didn't wish to have my address published.

(Name and address supplied).

DESIGN SHOULD BE REFUSED ON ARCHITECTURAL GROUNDS.

AT its meeting on April 30 South Shropshire District Council's development control committee will have the demanding responsibility of considering the design quality of the huge Bid Shed' supermarket which Aldi wishes to set down on Station Drive.

If it is given planning approval, the design of the proposed new Aldi store will result in an overpowering structure which will dominate the area outside Ludlow Station and have an impact similar to that of the infamous Ludlow Library and Museum warehouse building up the hill.

The architect's design seems not to accord with the Aldi company's stated policy of "recognising the local architectural heritage"- of Ludlow in this case.

On the contrary, the planning application shows a characterless high-tech' box, in steel, glass and expanses of silver and grey metal cladding - a style similar to the 70 other Aldi stores that the architects proudly claim to have designed already in the West Midlands. It bears no relation to Ludlow in terms of materials, form, colour or scale.

The proposal is for the largest of Aldi's stock floor plans; it is nearly two thirds the size of Tesco's retail sales area. The floor level of the Aldi store would be nearly eight feet above that of Tesco.

The sheer bulk of the block above that would be nearly eight feet above that of Tesco; the sheer bulk of the block above that would then dominate the vernacular stable building next to it, and the houses beyond. It would be violently out-of-scale with the urban fabric of that area of Ludlow.

There are retailing arguments both for and against an Aldi store in Ludlow; but whatever the merits or demerits of that issue, the specific design accompanying the present application should be refused on architectural grounds alone.

Dr J B Harris, MA, PhD (Architecture), Bell Lane, Ludlow.