Opera charges hit wrong note

I sometimes wonder just what exists between the ears of some of the decision-makers at Leeds City Council.

I refer to the proposed charging system for July’s Opera in the Park at Temple Newsam (Yorkshire Post, June 2). For many years the event was free but last year, for the first time, a surcharge of £12 was imposed and consequently an event which regularly attracted up to 50,000 people dropped to just 7,000.

This year the price has been reduced to £10 in an attempt to boost attendance. The solution is quite simple. Just further reduce the fee to £5. Based on an attendance of 7,000 paying £10 this will bring in £70,000, but 50,000 at a fiver each will bring in £250,000.

If, at the same time, an amount of £5 is charged per head for the Party in the Park the result will be £500,000 which should more than pay for both events and may also show a profit, which hopefully would benefit the taxpayers of Leeds.

From: V Brown, Manston Crescent, Crossgates, Leeds.

I SEE that Leeds City Council is again charging for tickets to Opera in the Park.

I feel that this is so unfair as the following day’s Party in the Park is still free.

Surely a charge of £5 for each event would be much fairer?

Only 7,000 people attended last year’s event instead of the usual 50,000, which says it all.

I will not be going despite attending for many years previously.

Hard labour

From: Max Hey, Fairway Grove, Bradford.

WHEN I hear of Iain Duncan Smith’s plans to get the disabled out of their wheelchairs into work, I can never completely erase the image from my consciousness of Japanese guards on the Burma railroad pulling seriously-ill Tommys from their beds for back-breaking manual work.

The Japanese mantra at the time was “Everyone, no matter how ill they are, can perform some useful task”.