YP Letters: Six reasons to fear fracking in Yorkshire

From: Mike and Susie Holden, Town Head, Settle.
The Kirby Misperton fracking site.The Kirby Misperton fracking site.
The Kirby Misperton fracking site.

FRACKING near the North York Moors is a disaster for the following reasons:

It is a brutal disruptive underground and overground procedure that might be acceptable for some remote spot in the vastness of unpopulated North America. However, the UK is a very small overcrowded island. Human beings and farm animals will be disturbed for years to come. Old coal, potash and jet mineshafts will be disturbed, leading to house subsidence and sink holes.

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The company has no idea where the unmapped underground caves run though the limestone rocks of that area of North Yorkshire. These caves are also linked to aquifers which feed into our waterways. Therefore the toxic, filthy washings and debris will enter our water systems, affecting thousands of human beings, farm and wild animals, and subsequently the sea will be further polluted.

Given that this country is trying to reduce its carbon footprint in line with European and world regulations, we should be using electric cars and not oil-powered ones.

Due to the feebleness of Westminster government and the ignorance of appropriate ministers, the controls on the company undertaking fracking will be utterly useless in terms of protecting the people, animals and environment and any compensation will be less than adequate.

This is supposed to be a tranquil beauty spot for restoring the troubled souls of the population, so how can such a monstrous process even be considered? It would not have been allowed, or even considered in the Cotswolds or Surrey.

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The process cannot be without huge risks, otherwise Scotland, Germany and France would not have banned the process. It is a disgusting, brain-dead idea.

Citizens not drones

From: John G Davies, Alma Terrace, East Morton, Keighley.

LORD Heseltine’s attitude towards education highlights one reason for our under-performance. He considers that the role of the school is to produce students who have the skills needed by the labour market.

Compare this with the French “Education for citizenship”; an approach that can produce individuals who can participate in society and bring about changes. Lord Heseltine wants to produce drones, no wonder pupils are not particularly involved in school.

The short-term requirements of industry may be fairly predictable, but the long term effects and needs for a society where robotics, artificial intelligence and virtual reality are to the fore are less knowable.

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He also conveniently ignores the failure of the private sector in the school academies project, when he says “this level of failure would not be tolerated in the private sector”. Let’s face it, there are plenty of business failures.

From: Elisabeth Baker, Leeds.

THE current fact that some university students have to attend remedial classes in English grammar and language is a sad reflection on the schools of today. I wonder if, before it is too late, the “Use of English” examination, which was taken simultaneously with A-levels in the 1960s, should be revived. Even this paper was somewhat “dumbed down” as it offered multiple choice answers, but my top marks in it set me on the enjoyable road to pedantry and I have never looked back!

Empty pledge on air links

From: Paul McGuinness, Chair, No 3rd Runway Coalition, London.

AMONGST other unrealistic pledges to win backing for their third runway campaign, Heathrow’s “promise” to increase the number of domestic routes, from six to 14, has been primarily designed to win the support of regional airports, businesses and politicians.

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And although some of these regional figures do appear to have fallen for it, the snag is that such a promise can never be in Heathrow’s gift. Because – as has been amply demonstrated by BA’s announcement that it will reduce its Leeds Bradford to Heathrow connection by 10 flights a week from this summer – regional connectivity can only be determined by airlines, and not by the airports which they use.

Regional businesses who contributed to the CBI’s 2016 report Unlocking Regional Growth would seem to understand this. For, while recognising the need for better links to international markets, they also stated that flights need to fly directly to centres of trade and commerce (rather than relying on a transfer at a hub, such as Heathrow, before reaching their destination).

BA’s decision on its Leeds Bradford/Heathrow service doesn’t only demonstrate this truth. It also reminds us of the short-sightedness of those who have been lulled into supporting Heathrow’s campaign to concentrate (yet again) all the best taxpayer-funded infrastructure in the already, disproportionately well-endowed South East of the country.

In praise of Parsonage

From: Jean Bull, Addingham.

AS a life member of the Brontë Society, I would like to commend those involved at the Parsonage Museum at Haworth, who promote the Brontë family.

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The bicentenary anniversaries have brought in new audiences because of the vibrancy and creativity of events.

April 2016 started with a party in Haworth, items loaned for exhibitions at the National Portrait Gallery and the Morgan Library in New York, and a ceremony in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey.

The Society is working hard to reach a wider audiences locally, nationally and globally.

Be there to celebrate.