Letters to the Editor - September 06th

Sep 6 2007 Liverpool Daily Post

Litter ruins the image of cities

HAVING just returned from a tour around Europe, I was shocked and dismayed to be reminded all too vividly about how much litter there is around not only Liverpool, but just about everywhere in this country. Continental Europeans clearly not only say they care, but do so in reality.

Even somewhere like Chester, which has rather a grand opinion of itself, is not immune from this dreadful despoiling of the landscape.

In some ways, I do feel rather sorry for local councils as they don’t drop the litter themselves. It’s there for only one reason, dirty, feckless people who have no concern or pride in their surroundings.

So many Liverpudlians are always keen to parade their sentimental affection for the city, but an equal number show their real contempt by littering the pavements and roads. And don’t get me started on the ghastliness of chewing gum-encrusted pavements.

Again, for a city so concerned with being proud of itself, it betrays a fundamental lack of pride.

Although there is also something deeply depressing about seeing overflowing litter bins, a situation that Chester City Council is often guilty of in places like The Groves.

Again, having got people to be responsible and put their litter in bins, surely it is incumbent for a council to empty them regularly so that the public can actually use them.

Rita J Watson (Mrs), Woolton

Chaotic policies

WITH news that the Liberal Democrats are holding their 2008 spring conference in Liverpool, let us hope that national delegates are taken on a tour of the city to assess for themselves the reality of the Lib-Dems wielding any kind of power.

First stop could be Norris Green's boot estate, in order to witness the damage and dereliction. How about then heading up to Gillmoss to see the broken promises and wasteland of the so-called Stonebridge Cross Project.

They could then attempt to journey up Edge Lane to witness the traffic shambles that is destined to cause chaos in 2008, before finally stopping off back in town for a meeting with bar owners in the Mathew Street area to assess the lasting damage caused to the city’s reputation by this year's Mathew Street fiasco.

What an appropriate conference choice, as delegates will not see more fitting examples anywhere of chaotic Lib-Dem policies in action.

Cllr Ben Williams, Chair, Clubmoor, Croxteth, Norris Green Area Committee, Labour councillor for Clubmoor

Property debt

A RECENT television investigation has shown that certain property companies, who specialise in stopping repossessions and offer to rent the property back, are failing to pay the true market value and at some stage will increase the rent on the property.

Tenants in the majority of cases are finding it very difficult to pay the unexpected increase, and therefore face possible eviction once rent arrears go over two months.

However, no company can just evict a tenant or even commence court action without first giving proper written notice and then issuing a Section 8 Notice.

A Section 21 Notice cannot be used for rent arrears, but only if the landlord wishes to end a tenancy.

Homeowners who face repossession but want to avoid the process must seek legal advice from a solicitor before entering into any agreement or signing any documentation.

If there is no current legislation to curb the activities of such companies, then the Government should act swiftly and introduce a mandatory code of practice or some form of licensing.

The landlord’s residential help desk offers free advice to anyone currently in dispute and can be contacted on 0151 639 6253 or at asher69@sky.com

R Globe, freelance residential letting consultant

Promote equality

THE NAS/UWT and their vast revenue would be better served by promoting real equality instead of choosing to single out denominational schools for their alleged inequality.

The RC Church and Church of England have educated millions and millions of young men and women over the centuries all over the world, and have done so in areas where equality was a dream and only became a reality through that very education they provided.

The very ethos that motivates these schools is what brings about their success.

Archbishop Patrick Kelly should be lauded for speaking up in their defence.

All too often now, institutions and organisations that have formed our very culture, preserve our traditions and build up our society are the brunt of superficial attack motivated by ulterior motives.

Craig Earley, Manchester

Too much crime

UNDER Labour, there is more gun crime than ever before, and it feels like many people are getting away with murder.

The Government has failed since coming to power to build badly needed new prisons and the Human Rights Act, which they rushed to sign up to, favours criminals over victims.

In most cases, crooks only spend half the time in prison that they were handed by the courts.

Labour has also reduced the compensation paid to the victims of crime. There are young people at school given taxpayers’ money by the Government, who then complain about under-age drinking and smoking.

The people who work in the NHS, on public transport and in shops are too often the victims of abuse and other crimes.

We need a return to the days when punishment fitted the crime but alas, while citizens continue to vote Labour, we can expect crime to get worse, mass immigration to carry on, and taxation to rise for all honest working people.

Danny Dougherty MBE, Stoneycroft

A vile cesspool

IN RESPONSE to P Mather of Wavertree (yesterday’s Daily Post) I agree that this country seems to be sliding down the side of an abyss into a vile cesspool of the most loathsome humanity imaginable – and humanity is probably the wrong word.

But I think the suggestion that, had she seen the future, the idea of having children might have been abandoned is totally the wrong tack.

The solution would be for decent people to breed like rabbits while the trash are fighting it out in their petty, drug-fuelled little worlds, so that they are suddenly hit by a tide of decency that can trample their vile existence into the ground.

Just a thought.

Name and address withheld

Fares are off track

FURTHER to the story regarding prosecutions for “putting feet on seats”.

Surely, if we are going to prosecute people for “interfering with the convenience or comfort of any passenger” as the charge read, then it will only be a few weeks before the whole of the management board of the company will be in the dock for forcing passengers to stand like sardines at peak times.

I notice that, although only half a service has been provided recently, the prices have remained at the usual levels.

Presumably rail users come far below shareholders and profit in the pecking order for Merseyrail.

Mark Wilkie, Birkenhead

Zero tolerance

I FOR one welcome Merseyrail’s new “zero tolerance” policy with a heartfelt sigh of relief.

Smoking, spitting and swearing have become daily facts of life on public transport, and the days when a member of the public could confidently intervene are long gone.

Kathleen Jennings’s transgression – putting her feet up on the seat – was at the milder end of the spectrum.

Merseyrail now has to make sure its officials tackle intimidating packs of high or drunk youngsters with similar severity.

We don’t want money wasted on prosecuting “easy targets” while the real misery-makers are allowed, once again, to thumb their noses at the law.

Pauline Travis, via email

Waste of time

I CANNOT believe that any court would take the time to bring out a judge and take the use of a court room just to punish someone because they put their feet up on a seat on a train.

Don’t get me wrong: I am all for respect and discipline, and people who do this should be disciplined, but if ever there were a case of taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut, then surely this is it.

G Hathaway, Warrington

An expensive life

AS A Chester resident, I was surprised to read that the city has been hailed as having an affordable affluence.

I think most people living here, as in most other areas of the country, would say that they are just getting by. Life everywhere these days is expensive, house prices are shooting up with absolutely no relation to the wages people are earning. I don’t know too many people earning £35,000 a year.

I love living in Chester, and it is definitely a beautiful place, but I have to work hard to be able to enjoy it.

O Nixon, Chester

Tribute to Jane

AFTER all the platitudes heaped upon the likes of Princess Diana and numerous other celebrities who are constantly praised for their “charitable works”, I hope that Jane Tomlinson will be given the sort of tributes she deserves after everything she has done in her tragically cut short life.

She was selfless and dedicated, and a true inspiration to us all.

T Lowe, Whiston