Letters to the Editor - 16th July 2008

Jul 16 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

Happy to stick to the facts

THE letter from Mr Beilin (Daily Post, July 14), seems somewhat disingenuous. The purpose of a “news” paper is to report the news, not to filter out any bad news in the development sector at the risk of upsetting certain financial organisations. I want to read what is going on in the city, not a lily-livered version written to protect me from bad news.

Developers such as the Beetham Organisation have done very well out of the boom in the city, and dare I say the very positive publicity they have received in the past has helped fuel their success. I do not recall ever reading any negative publicity, and I congratulate any local company deserving of such.

And, if a company is happy to receive the plaudits, it should take the negative publicity when it comes – if that publicity is based on fact and not mischief.

The council have done well to rescue their position on Beetham Tower and dare I say they have acted in a financial astute way to do so. I am sure any developer would have acted in the same way.

Private developers will continue to invest in the city while there is money to be made, and these developers will develop in other cities if better opportunities arise.

I would suggest if Mr Beilin wants to read positive publicity he should contact the respective public relations companies – I myself am happy to stick with newspapers for the facts.

James McNally, Liverpool city centre

No deterrent

WE WRITE in relation to plans unveiled by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith in relation to knife offenders.

While it is important to make offenders fully aware of the consequences of their actions, after 10 years the Government should realise that the public are sick and tired of ill-thought-through, piecemeal announcements and failed initiatives. They are not the answer.

This is why David Cameron has announced a knife crime action plan that addresses this problem both in the short and long term.

Not only would we have tough policing to tackle knife crime on our streets now, but under our plans people convicted of knife crime would automatically face the presumption of jail.

This would act as a deterrent and punishment that is not only tough and effective, but also desperately needed.

The Home Secretary claims custodial sentences for carrying a knife are “too simplistic”, but the real reason the Government won't toughen up the penalty is that prisons are full because Gordon Brown failed to fund adequate prison capacity.

Community sentences, which under Labour have been weak, ineffective and routinely breached, will be no deterrent.

Cllr Martyn Barber (Con), Manor Ward and Sharon Hutchinson, Conservative spokesperson, Victoria Ward

Political dithering

THE total inadequacy of our political leaders in all parties has been highlighted by the present dithering about what to do about knife crime.

They seem to consider every fuddy-duddy measure while ignoring the truth that the only way to deal with violent thugs is to lock them up.

The excuse that they carry knives for protection simply doesn’t wash.

Anyone found in possession of a knife, or any other weapon, should be sent to prison for a minimum of five years.

What’s all this nonsense about taking knife attackers to hospitals to see the injuries inflicted by knives?

They already know all about that – after all, they stab people.

Maria Connolly, Heswall

Staff are a credit

I HAVE to compliment the security staff at the Cheb Khaled gig, on Saturday night, at the Philharmonic Hall.

By using a mixture of personality, good humour and diplomacy, the security staff overcame the challenges of cultural and language barriers and managed to control an extremely exuberant audience while allowing everyone to have a fantastic time.

As a regular gig-goer, I have witnessed and experienced some heavy handed, confrontational and unnecessary intervention by security staff at concerts in the past, and Saturday’s gig should have been filmed and used as a training video on crowd control.

This was a rare UK performance for Khaled, and people had travelled from all over the country for the event. The security staff were a credit not only to themselves and the Philharmonic, but they were also fantastic ambassadors for Liverpool.

Paul and Pam Darby, L23

Not worthy

I AM normally a great fan of the Daily Postcard, one of the many pleasures in your paper.

This letter is not to comment on the quality of the photographs, which is always of the highest. But Colin Lane’s postcard on Tuesday was depressing, not because of the photograph itself, which was excellent, but what it showed.

From what I could see, the new Museum of Liverpool is not worthy of the other buildings on the famous Liverpool waterfront.

OK, it is not finished and perhaps we should withhold judgment, but at the moment it looks like a giant letter box or a squashed packet of fags.

I sincerely hope that it will look much better by the time it’s finished, because the Pier Head area is the face Liverpool offers the world.

Increasingly, I am beginning to wonder if we should have gone ahead with Will Alsop’s Cloud, which at least would have been different – providing a lasting legacy of our year as the European Capital of Culture.

Ted Armstrong, Crosby

Once glorious

I HAVE to agree with your correspondent David Swift (“Moscardini’s the man”, July 15) and his comments about our once glorious waterfront.

The World Heritage buffer zone has been intruded on too much. Planners have made hasty decisions and given the go-ahead for ugly boxes no better than some of the carbuncles of the 60s.

The beauty of our city is sacrificed in the blink of an eye before the desire of businesses to grab maximum space at minimum cost in exchange for promised cash boosts, and I include Liverpool One in that.

The arrival of the graceful and historic Tall Ships will only highlight the shortcomings of the waterfront.

E Cartwright, via email

Looking fabulous

I WAS making my usual way into Liverpool along The Strand this morning and as I sat at the traffic lights at Canning Place, one word came to mind – wow!

After all the hassle, all the traffic, all the roadworks and all the misery of the past five years, this area is really starting to come alive and look fabulous.

There is clearly still a lot of work to be done, but what a transformation there has already been. I noticed today that much of the scaffolding has come down off the Port of Liverpool Building, and doesn't this magnificent building look fine now.

The museum is starting to take shape and Liverpool One looks to be almost finished. The whole waterfront area appears invigorated. What a treat for all those people coming to see the Tall Ships this weekend.

Al Shaw, Garston

Blatant tax

CONGRATULATIONS to Swindon Borough Council for saying out loud what people have long known, that speed cameras are a “blatant tax on the motorist”.

That council is now looking at axing its funding for speed cameras to spend the money on road safety measures instead, and it should be applauded for its actions.

Speed cameras do not make our roads safer. I would wager that they are, in fact, a hazard in themselves, as speeding cars suddenly slam on the brakes upon seeing them to avoid a fine.

Money should be spent on making our roads safer, widening them where necessary, installing extra lighting and warning signs on dangerous bends, and putting in traffic calming measures such as traffic light controlled roundabouts.

I am not suggesting for one minute that people should not drive within the speed limit – of course they should – but the motorist in this country is sick of being used as a cash cow to fund all sorts of other projects, and now it looks like we could be about to see a fight back.

And not before time.

M Tennant, Warrington

Brewery delight

I READ about the guided tour of Cains Brewery in The Great Liverpool Pub Crawl, by your award-winning journalist Mike Chapple.

I thought the tour of the brewery was very well presented and thanks go to the tour guide, Louise, who gave our party a unique insight into how the ale is created.

I never realised that beer is a living entity and that a pint pulled from the cask at the beginning of the week would be quite different from a pint pulled at the end of the week from the same cask.

Inside the brewery itself was also fascinating, I can only describe it as being like a massive model railway, only without a train.

At the end of the tour, Cains provided us with a delicious buffet with two pints of their finest for each of us.

It was a perfect ending to a perfect day out.

S Fort, Heswall

Smoking problems

BEFORE the smoking ban, people smoked indoors and you did not have to see them or inhale the smoke. Now people are smoking everywhere, in doorways, at bus stops, in back streets, next to the bins outside hospitals, everywhere.

People smoking are taking over from the car fumes. They are all outside Old Hall St and Dale St and children see people smoking.

If people have to smoke outside, maybe there should be smoking booths, like phone booths, where they can go in and smoke.

A T Vaughan, L8