Cycle route wastage

RE Derek Hough’s letter (Yorkshire Post, October 12) – we must have a similar ‘jobsworth’ in Kirklees Council.

It is unbelievable to me how many thousands of pounds have been spent on nonsensical cycle route white lining and blue signs. Someone must be working to rules but they must be annotated “do not use common sense”.

Several examples are where a sign is erected “cycle route” and within a few yards another reads “end of cycle route”. If an audit was carried out to calculate the total amount of money spent, the council tax payers of Huddersfield, Dewsbury etc would be appalled. Why are the councillors not monitoring wastage?

Scrap subsidies

From: M Dobson, Feversham Crescent, York.

THE easiest way to reduce fuel prices is to scrap the subsidies paid to the developers of renewable energy technology.

My grasp of history may be a little rusty, but I don’t remember water wheels being taxed to subsidise James Watt inventing the steam engine, or George Stephenson needing a tax on horse drawn vehicles to develop the steam locomotive.

The inventors of old paid for their developments out of their own pocket or the pocket of sympathetic benefactors, the modern day equivalent being company profits and shareholders.

Their inventions being superior to the systems current at the time took over by natural progression and economic sense. If renewable energy is as good as it is cracked up to be, the energy companies should pay for its development out of their own pocket until it naturally supersedes existing forms of energy production, when they will reap their reward.

Care concerns

From: Hilary Andrews, Nursery Lane, Leeds.

YET another serious case review following the death of Hamzah Khan. Wouldn’t it be better to spend the money it costs for these reviews on more social workers or other agencies that should be taking care of our children if their parents are unfit?