Important to work together and network in troubled times

I WAS amazed and horrified to read that Richmondshire District Council’s Strategic Committee has decided to not pay the increased fees to be a member of Welcome to Yorkshire. Why not start by trying to negotiate a better deal?

This area is heavily dependent on tourism, as well as agriculture and small and medium-sized business. We cannot afford to leave gaps in communications, and infrastructure. District councillors are elected, and should play their part in protecting our interests in bigger bodies.

In my opinion in these difficult economic times, it is important to work together, and network, whether it is at local business association level, district council level, to county council level.

Welcome to Yorkshire works with individual business level, councils and big businesses, and has achieved a high profile at international level, whether winning tourism awards, sponsoring TV programmes and events, and is currently planning for the future hoping to get the Tour de France to our area.

During the foot-and-mouth crisis in 2001, I was chair of the former Upper Wensleydale Business Association, and it was a member of the former Yorkshire Tourist Board, and we appreciated the support and financial help from the YTB; the old regional set-up Yorkshire Forward; North Yorkshire County Council, as well as other organisations, and our MP, William Hague. We had superb support from district council through its economic development officer, Geoff Herbert, and tourism officer Pam Whittaker.

Party politics were put aside, and we worked as communities, supporting each other, and this is what we should be doing today. We have to consider everyone in our rural communities, young and old, rich and poor. We are in this mess together.

I hope the full council of the district will think about the long-term damage this proposal could have, and vote it out at its next full council meeting. At least that would be democratic.

From: Karl Sheridan, Selby Road, Holme on Spalding Moor.

I FEEL the plan by City of York Council to scrap 349 litter bins emulates the ill-thought-out plans that our coalition Government seem to readily embrace – that of spending more money to save money only to later realise they’ve then go to spend even more to rectify their error!

The vast majority of litter-droppers are children and the younger generation who have not been indoctrinated with the ‘Keep Britain Tidy’ theme as we were in the 60s and 70s. Of course some folk are inherently lazy anyway and prefer not to carry their rubbish a few yards to a bin and just dump it.

I question just who is going to pick up the resulting rubbish that will result? Will the City of York Council just leave it in the hope it will disappear? Do they think shopkeepers/house owners will come out and clean it up? Dream on!

Maybe a solution would be to make those on community service collect the litter and thus earn themselves some respect as well as learning that there are indeed consequences to committing crime.