Is this the end for West Kirby?

I REFER to the letter of January 30 by Sarah Beer, about the plans to build a hotel on the waterfront at West Kirby.

May I say that, while the development may be highly desirable on paper, and would be most appropriate on a different site I am sure, if Mrs Beer had attended the one and only "public meeting" held by the council, then she would have realised that the vast majority of the residents are completely against the scheme.

The hotel development has to be looked at with the rest of the proposals put forward by the council for West Kirby.

Also proposed is a multi-storey car park on the site of the fire station, a "pay and display" car park at that, to replace the car parking spaces lost to the hotel; pedestrianisation of The Crescent, also taking parking spaces; and limiting street parking, all to the detriment of the local shops.

At the meeting, the question was put as to why the developer has to develop the best site in West Kirby, right on the waterfront?

The answer was that the developer wanted this site and would not consider any other. Whatever happened to the wishes of people who live in the area?

It is high time that the views of the residents were taken into account.

It is all very well to say that the sailing school will be redeveloped, but not if the character of the village is completely altered against the wishes of the residents.

Will this be the demise of West Kirby as we know and love it, changing its whole character without any discussion with the residents?

Mrs MA Kalil, Caldy

Good for everyone

THERE is nothing controversial about lowering the school leaving age to 14, except among beneficiaries of the present system (Daily Post, January 28). The proposal is obvious enough, though not for the reasons given by Frank Field. It is certainly neither new nor radical.

Apart from the saving of thousands of pounds which can be released for other purposes such as saving small rural schools, examination classes will become more effective as disaffected children leave or, if necessary, are expelled.

Children would be free to take up useful work, for example in the home, in the building trade or on market stalls, possibly in family firms, with or without further education.

The proposal would especially benefit enterprising young children who realise that school qualifications beyond the "3Rs" and a few other basics are of no use whatsoever to them. It is at work that manners, the need for co-operation and money sense become imperatives.

Enough of this mad idea to turn all our children into creative scientists or Shakespearean critics.

Whatever gave educationalists the bizarre idea that reading poetry to GCSE standard is more educational than working on a building site? Should early leavers become more appreciative of scholarship in later life, then they can easily revert.

Lowering the school age would cause upheaval, as would any attempt to solve any of our country's problems, but the knock on effects would just have to be dealt with. Better now than later, otherwise things may only get worse.

JF Lambert, Mossley Hill

Offensive

I WAS at last week’s West Ham game, which was bad enough. But to hear Scousers sing before the game how they dreamed of no woollies in the Kop.

Just who do they think they are? I am Frodsham born and bred and proud of it. My father was a real Scouser, who came from the centre of town not the outskirts. I was in Rome in 1977. I find singing like this disgusting and those Scousers responsible want to wake up and smell the coffee. Times are a- changing and we supporters need to stick together.

M Burgess, via email

Subsidy anger

LIVERPOOL City Council has a very good track record finding alternative posts for Children’s Services staff liable to compulsory redundancy. I am confident that will also be the case regarding such staff at Gladstone House (Daily Post, January 31). The unions may not be very happy about the situation; nor am I, given the quality of this institution. Other local authorities are also being forced down this same route by government.

However, the Daily Post has highlighted several times in the recent past how Liverpool City Council has been forced by relevant regulations to subsidise the Home Office to the tune of £2m annually, because they refused to pay the actual costs incurred in our looking after refugee and asylum seeking children on their behalf. Keeping Gladstone House open would add another £1m a year to that Home Office bill in 2008/9 and has already cost us £500,000 in 2007/8.

We have the Alice-in- Wonderland situation where the inspection arm of government compelled us to increase staff ratios and the arm of Government commissioning the service – the Youth Justice Board, an agency of the Home Office – has steadfastly refused to pay the additional costs entailed. I think Labour Cllr. Jane Corbett should tell us why the city’s ratepayers should pay £1m of their money for the privilege of running a service for the Home Office.

Cllr Paul Clein, Executive Member for Children’s Services, Liverpool City Council

Glory days

I WOULD urge everyone who cares about Liverpool’s future to visit Land Securities website, or the marketing suite at St John’s itself, to view their new proposals for St John’s precinct.

The website provides an artist’s impression of what is in essence just other ugly retail park. Astonishingly, St John’s Beacon is to be kept and is described as "iconic" when the majority of people in this city actually find it ugly and offensive. If this city is to improve its image, then we should demand that the current St John’s, including the Beacon and the dreadful car park, are demolished, not extended or redecorated.

It is time this area was given the respect it deserves and restored to its former glory. Either Land Securities should build a market place and hotel complex that is fit to stand alongside the architecture on William Brown Street and Lime Street or they should sell up to someone who will.

P Saeed, via email

Helping businesses

I FEAR that Tony Caldeira, the chair of the Liverpool Conservative Business Forum, in his denunciation of the Chancellor's proposals on capital gains tax (Daily Post Letters, February 1) has selective amnesia.

When Margaret Thatcher took office in 1979 Capital Gains Tax (CGT) was 30%. By the time the last Conservative Government left office in 1997, the rate of CGT paid by most entrepreneurs had increased to 40%.

With the latest proposals announced by the Chancellor entrepreneurs will soon pay CGT at 10% on the first £1m of gains they make over their lifetime and 18% on anything else – cuts of 75% and 55% respectively on 1997 rates.

The stable economy created by Gordon Brown as Chancellor and now Prime Minister, matched with unprecedented levels of investment in public infrastructure and skills, have done far, far more to help Liverpool businesses prosper and create jobs than the Tories ever did for the city in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Liverpool's wealth creators will dismiss Tony Caldeira's views as they remember the years of boom and bust, recession and disinvestment.

Cllr Nick Small, Labour Spokesperson on Regeneration, Liverpool City Council

Thanks for helping

MAY I, through your Letters page, express my sincere thanks and appreciation to our local Croxteth councillors Nadia Stewart and Phil Moffatt.

Following the recent traffic chaos in our area, both councillors united to speak up and speak out for their community, which was most admirable. They were able to not only stay the hand of the National Grid, but were able to negotiate a solution to resolving the problem by having Oak Lane reopened to traffic exiting the Country Park Estate.

I don't suppose that even the residents of the Country Park would have expected such a speedy resolution to the crisis which we faced. Can I also place on record my thanks to the council leader Warren Bradley for visiting the estate and giving the necessary support needed to our elected members. It just shows that where there's a will, there's a way, and credit should be given to those who helped bring relief to a community who where grid-locked on their own housing estate.

L Johnston, Croxteth Park

Caring people

DID you holiday at the Club Seray Forest in Marmaris,Turkey, in May, 2005, and remember the guy with two young kids who broke his leg and was sitting in the hotel foyer with his leg in a cast for a week?

Well, that guy was me and I would have been lost if it were not for the kindness of the people who were there on holiday.

I would love to hear from anyone who was there at the time and met me so I could thank you for being so kind.

Please contact Mark on 01752 216014 or at kbcc@hotmail.co.uk

Mark Johns, Plymouth

Saving the NHS

I READ with interest the letter from Mary Lonsdale in the letters page on Friday in which she praised the treatment at her local walk-in centre.

These centres are saving the NHS, in my opinion. Due to complete inability to get an appointment with my GP, I recently visited an NHS walk-in centre near my home where the people could not have been nicer and where I, too, was on my way in no time with the required medication.

L Moore, Warrington