Chester Chronicle letters

Sep 17 2004

I WAS really looking forward to my birthday on Wednesday.

All the cards - especially the personal one from Maggie Thatcher. Monday brought a trickle but surprise, surprise none on Tuesday. Oh well there must be so many there's to be a special delivery on Wednesday. Wednesday came and went, not a sign. By Thursday morning both Molly, our dog, and myself were in deep depression. She had no one to bark at and I felt totally rejected by everyone.

In the afternoon I rang Royal Mail which is quite a difficult number to find. After being cut off, a very helpful person explained that staff who were in work would not work overtime to cover other staff absences hence the problem.

Staff may not want overtime for a variety of reasons such as already being on overtime, being over-worked or as a way of making a point. I worked in a state concern for 44 years of which I was very proud. I believe no privatisation has been successful. What has happened to the Post Office then? The powers that be have decided to privatise by stealth.

A privatisation orientated policy has been put in place, managers with no knowledge are found and these fall into two categories.

First the fat cats who's first priority is to form a union which guarantees them massive severance pay. The other category are the executive types who blindly follow the often stupid dictates from above in the hope of getting into the first category.

The Post Office is currently a shambles. As a past branch officer with members in the PO in the not too distant past, I know how low morale is.

Staff at the sharp end really do deserve much, much better as of course does the public.
ALEX WOODS Long Looms Great Barrows Chester

SCIENTIFIC research undertaken at the time of the year-long national ban on hunting, during the foot and mouth epidemic in 2000-2001, showed that the ban did not lead to an increase in the fox population.

So hunting is not about controlling a dangerous agricultural pest, it's about having a good time - killing for fun. Even its supporters admit this point by describing it as a 'country sport' - they don't call it a country chore or a country duty. Indeed, evidence from concealed video cameras has shown artificial earths constructed on hunting estates in several parts of the country to encourage fox breeding, after all, it's important to maintain the supply of foxes for the 'sport'.

Clearly even many hunters themselves do not take the pest control line seriously, they just use it to mislead the gullible, but happily they've been rumbled.

The parliamentary Bill to ban hunting has been passed repeatedly by overwhelming majorities in the House of Commons, and since this is the third time round the track, the Parliament Act can now be used to prevent the unelected landowners and businessmen in the House of Lords from blocking it.

Opposition to the Bill was a stated policy of many candidates who were rejected by the voters in that election, including one of the candidates rejected by the voters of Chester. If the unelected House of Lords were to be allowed to continue to block this Bill passed by elected MPs then Britain would not be a democracy.
CHRISTOPHER CLAYTON Orchard Cottage Brown Heath Rd. Waverton

MY, my...I was surprised at the vehement response to my letter which I gather was published in The Chronicle last week. (Circumstances meant I hadn't a chance to catch up with that issue so I am answering without knowing if it was published verbatim).

The assumption has been made that I am some kind of rural 'NIMBY' who neither understands nor cares about the needs of the planet. This is far from the truth and I hope you will allow to respond.

I reported, in my letter, the conversation I had with my brother. HIS comments were the result of public consultation in his own area. I passed on the information as he told me. (My brother was not the engineer who posed the question.)

Incidentally the carbon audit I believe, covered aspects such as ongoing repair and maintenance, site infrastructure, and transport of personnel to the fairly lonely areas these plants are located, for their foreseeable lifetime. I understand that the information given was supplied by the proposer of that particular scheme.

I feel somewhat sorrowful that vital issues such as sustainable energy cannot be discussed with an open, friendly exchange of views and information. I retain an open mind as to the efficacy of various schemes, including wind power, at this stage of our understanding of planetary functioning.

It is, after all, barely half a century since nuclear power was hailed as our energy saviour! Indeed you do not need to travel far into Europe to find many people who still hold that belief.

Finally I feel that I must make one comment to John McDonald where he seems to imply that governments are careful when considering funding schemes. History would seem to show us that governments of every persuasion, everywhere, are more than happy to be profligate with other people's money!
E.A. HASLAM

THE residents of Westminster Park have won the battle to prevent a 3G mobile phones mast from being erected on Wrexham Road.

Last week, Chester City Council rejected Hutchinson 3G Ltd planning application because of two reasons. Firstly, The 3G mast would have been too close to the proximity of the Ash Grove Nursery and Belgrave School. This resulted in the perception that it would be detrimental to the health of children. Secondly, the installation would introduce an obtrusive feature which would be detrimental to the quality of the existing environment.

It would appear that the planning department has taken a precautionary approach to the perceived health issues in this case. This is consistent with the guidance advocated by the Stewart Report (Chapter 5, paragraph 6.35-6.42).

However, the decision in fact contradicts the Governments Planning Policy Guidance (PPG8, August 2201 c29-31) which prevents councils from objecting to mobile phone masts on health grounds.

PPG8 stipulates that if mobile phone masts meet ICNIRP guidelines for exposure, it is not necessary for a local planning authority to consider the health aspects. This was also reiterated by the Planning Minister Nick Raynsford who explicitly instructed councils that they should not impose a ban on mobile phone masts on health grounds (DETR letter from Minister for Housing & Planning 29th June 2000).

There does appear to be a great deal of confusion about the health risks from mobile phone masts and this is something the government needs to address because the evidence in other European countries is mounting. For example, the Freiburger Appeal in Germany was backed by 500 GPs and concluded that there was a clear temporal spatial radiation from base stations.

I call on people to boycott Hutchinson 3G Ltd. They will no doubt be considering their next planning application soon. There can be no concessions and no dialogue with this ruthless company.
JONATHAN DERRY Fir Tree Avenue Westminster Park Chester