Letters to the Editor - October 08th

Oct 8 2007 Liverpool Daily Post

Making us a laughing stock

JUDGING by the report in Thursday’s Daily Post (£200,000 bill for scrapped concert in dock, Thursday, October 4) Liverpool will continue to enjoy its reputation as “European Capital of Comedy”!

Or, as the Post reports: “A Culture Company spokesman said: “Costs are always attached to developing any high-profile project, but expenses incurred have come from within existing budgets”.

How many times have we heard this? If the money’s there, the council will spend it – regardless of value for money or prudence.

A famous philosopher once observed that history repeats itself – the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce. Just over 20 years ago, a reckless council administration led by Militant demanded more money from the government and, when it didn’t get it, had no Plan B. It made Liverpool a byword for bad government and put us in debt for over a decade.

Today, the Liberal Democrat administration is doing it all over again. They are putting us £20m into debt. I opposed Militant in the ’80s before it was popular and I can see the same disaster looming for the city now.

But this time the rest of the country won’t be sorry or shocked. They’ll be laughing at us.

Cllr Steve Munby, Riverside Ward, Labour

Time’s running out

IN JANUARY, 2006, the chief operating officer of a local culture company confidently declared that “they were on schedule to deliver the best-ever Capital of Culture year” and that they would be ready “to WOW the people of Liverpool and the world when 2008 comes”.

I was not alone in remaining unconvinced, and argued in your Letters column that to make “2008 a proper wow demands a constant reality check on PR hype and culture vulture speak, as well as belated recognition that Scouse cultural history reflects diversity and dissent and a democratic spirit of involvement”.

Phil Redmond was brought up on the three Ds, but with barely 100 days to go and in the wake of the Mathew Street debacle, time has surely run out for the young lad from Chorley, Jason Harborow, who has now to explain the £200k cost of aborted plans for a “once-in-a-lifetime concert” in the Salthouse Dock.

Perhaps he should have followed my advice five weeks ago (Aug 24) and done some research on the sugar trade where an older and sager Chorley lad, Henry Tate, not only established a global dynasty made in Liverpool’s Love Lane, but became the foundation for more than just cubes in British art and cultural history.

Ron Noon, via email

Ugly eyesore

WHAT? The new building at Chavasse Park has won an award. From whom? it certainly can’t be from us, the people of Liverpool, who will have to live with this ugly eyesore forever.

How could you not learn from all the lessons of the past and make all the same mistakes again, then as a new emerging city skyline takes shape, some publicity agents tries to sell us it. Well, I am having none of it.

The Emperor is not wearing any clothes and we are being sold down the Mersey.

I liken the whole Chavasse Park fiasco to Fred Carno’s circus, a series of “funny ha ha” laughs that are on us. This award can only be a pat on the back like the one for the ugliest car park at Liver Street that also netted a plastic statue. Where do they come up with these things?

There can be no way whatsoever that this poor and average monstrosity on the top of Liverpool’s last piece of green space could qualify for anything other than a collective sigh of despair from Liverpool’s inhabitants, who are sick and tired of watching the World Heritage Site be destroyed by prefabricated eyesores that offer no hope for our future at all, except to the coffers of all the Duke’s men.

We have no architectural future. They promised us world-class architecture, and we get this mess. There is no point in going on; I can’t take any more of this spin.

Dr Anthony Small, via email

Cheap and gloomy

SO “PLANNING manager” Nigel Lee seeks approval for a media wall to cover the Lime Street facade of St John’s Centre for a five-year period to hide the unsightly view of St John’s car park.

How can the council give permission for a “revamp” of St John’s Centre and an extension of Clayton Square centre when it is obvious that nothing short of total demolition will “improve” either one of these ugly buildings?

Someone at Land Securities should take a look at photographs of what the area opposite Lime Street looked like before either one of these buildings was foisted upon us – it was beautiful and full of character. Now it is just cheap and gloomy, and jars horribly with the wonderful architecture in William Brown Street.

If I may paraphrase Sir John Betjeman’s famous poem: “Come, friendly bombs, and fall on St John’s (and Clayton Square) they are not fit for humans now.”

PS, Liverpool

Sign of prosperity

IN RESPONSE to J Harrison, of Childwall, about traffic congestion (Daily Post Letters). Anyone who travels to Manchester will know that roadworks are a sign of economic prosperity and the current infrastructure changes hopefully will result in Liverpool enjoying a fraction of Manchester’s wealth .

Also, do you honestly think this type of massive change to our infrastructure can be knocked up overnight? The whole point is to have it ready for next year.

Incidentally, most of the diversion on The Strand is the result of a tunnel being constructed to the new Liverpool One underground car parking, which presumably is the very thing the moaning motorist dreams of.

On your comments about Church Street: They are actually taking their time and doing the job properly, not like the first set of pavements which were laid shallower than a summer puddle and ruined by truck and vans when the awful stalls were there.

G Guilfoyle, Liverpool

Change our anthem

SURELY a change of national anthem is long overdue?

From the evidence of recent rugby World Cup matches, other nations’ anthems appear to touch a nerve with their players who seem visibly moved by them and sing them with passion.

The national anthem rarely has this effect on our players, whatever the game.

I have nothing against the Queen, who seems a nice lady, but a national anthem, the theme and focus of which is one person, however famous or public a figure, seems inappropriate and contradictory.

What we need is a new and different anthem that is meaningful, relevant, has national significance and, most importantly, has a good tune.

Philip Quinn, L18

Stop gun crime

I AM proud to live in Liverpool, because there is no other city in England as beautiful as this, and I’ve lived in London and Birmingham.

There is something about this city that stands out against all these others.

But the gun crime simply has to stop. I’m sure those involved would want to do something better with their lives not to be involved in drugs and lead decent lives.

Since the death of young Rhys Jones, we need to get the people to come together and talk.

Please, young people, put down your guns and get rid of the drugs that are destroying you and look to the future.

Ask for help, you will get it if you want it.

MW, Kirkdale

Facts wrong

IAN MEADOWS (“Lasting Legacy”, Daily Post , October 4) should get his facts correct before making bold and inaccurate public statements about the Mersey Ferries.

I have no problem with positive criticism about the service, but Mr Meadows has got his facts completely wrong.

In doing so, he leaves an impression about the Mersey Ferries that is both inaccurate and unfair.

The taped commentary of the Mersey Ferries does not refer to a future event in 2004.

What it actually says is; “Liverpool’s bid for World Heritage status was approved by Unesco in July, 2004” – a statement of fact.

Instead of calling to rid others of embarrassment, maybe Mr Meadows should look closer to home.

Neil Scales, chief executive and director general of Merseytravel (owners and operators of the Mersey Ferries)

A new constitution

THE attempts by Labour to avoid having a referendum on the new EU “treaty” by arguing that they only promised one on a “constitution”, and that the “treaty” is merely a tidying-up exercise of the existing laws and protocols, can be exposed for the deceit it is by looking at the EU’s own website.

There one can see that the EU calls it a “constitutional treaty” and makes no bones about the fact that there is a whole series of wholesale changes and additions to how the EU is run, and that it is not merely a tidying -up exercise.

Mark Bill, UK Independence Party, Liverpool

Well done, Asda

I WOULD suggest that G Swinton, of Halewood (Daily Post, Thursday, October 4) has never tried to get a baby seat into a car when someone has parked six inches from your door.

I remonstrate with ignorant buffoons on every visit to the supermarket.

Asda have introduced this measure no doubt on the back of hundreds of complaints against these self-centred idiots.

Walking an extra 20 yards is, of course, totally out of the question and is symptomatic of our slothful society.

Well done, Asda, I hope the other supermarkets follow suit and adopt a zero tolerance attitude.

Name and address supplied