OPINION: Letters to the editor of the Newbury Weekly News
What can be done to stop these e-scooters?
I live just outside Newbury in Woolton Hill. We’ve a couple of idiots who openly ride electric scooters on roads and pavements in our village and Penwood which is illegal.
Stupid they may be, but I appreciate that policing against it in a small village would be challenging.
Today (August 27), I had to go into Newbury to make two stops, one in south Northbrook Street and the other north Northbrook Street.
At both locations I saw e-scooters being ridden at pace by individuals without protection or a care in the world it would seem.
Oblivious to the fact what they were doing was illegal or that there were other road users around.
Why is this happening in Newbury where it should be policed?
A blind eye keeps being given to this, but all that would change in an instance if someone was hurt.
Do you think our local force should be stopping these people and passing down sentences that will make them think again?
Mr J Salter
Woolton Hill
New Northcroft will be a great improvement
I would like to respond to Mr Bunce’s letter published in the Newbury Weekly News last week.
WBC are proud to announce that we will be investing £4.6m in a complete refurbishment of Northcroft Leisure Centre.
We are excited that the new leisure centre will be a great improvement on the current offering and will attract more users to the centre, from across the district.
Squash court usage at Northcroft averages just one hour 45 minutes per day and as the refurbishment is to be carried out within the footprint of the existing building, the squash courts need to be removed to provide space for the redevelopment and the provision of more widely accessible sporting activities.
Of course, there will still be squash courts available for booking at the Kennet Leisure Centre, which is only three miles away from Northcroft, maintaining provision for squash players.
The redevelopment of Northcroft Leisure Centre is very exciting and will be a great benefit to our community.
We are looking forward to the work being completed early in the new year.
Nigel Foot
Liberal Democrat portfolio holder for culture, leisure, sport and countryside, West Berkshire Council
Dismayed by reaction to smoking proposals
I expected the recently-leaked Government proposals to discuss the banning of smoking in pub gardens and areas near children to be generally well received, considering 87 per cent of the public are non-smokers, as well as the fact that they stop short of an outright ban, as previously suggested by Rishi Sunak.
I was therefore somewhat dismayed, and, yes, downright angry, at the hysterical reaction in the popular press, rubbishing the idea before the public even get to read about it.
On the TV news one at least expects a more balanced presentation, but we had five or six minutes of pub landlords rigorously condemning the proposals before the Prime Minister was permitted around 45 seconds to defend them, after which a few more minutes of condemnation.
This is just so pathetic and, yes, sad.
My instinct tells me BigTobacco lobbyists are at work here behind the scenes.
It is quite reasonable that parents should not want their children exposed to the sight of smokers at nearby tables, as children tend to copy what they see adults doing.
Smoking has for many years now been declining, thanks to it all but disappearing from TV screens as well as published fiction.
Health education has also played a part.
However, there are those who want to reverse this development, and one hears the most ridiculous comments about ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’.
In fact I would call it hypocracy.
Smokers are free to light up, as long as they respect the right of others not to be exposed to their carcinogenic air pollution.
They only have to leave the table and walk a few metres to the street if they wish to top up their nicotine levels.
Finally, I note that there was nothing like the public furore when Rishi Sunak announced his age-related smoking ban.
Partly because it would make no difference to current adult smokers.
More fundamentally though, I believe it would actually increase smoking among teenagers, being based on discrimination according to age.
Many younger teens would be likely to take up smoking from peer pressure from their older ‘legal’ smoking friends.
In social situations, teenagers often do things they otherwise would not do.
I sincerely hope Sir Keir Starmer dismisses this ill-thought out idea.
Prohibition is not the answer.
JE Turner
Beancroft Road, Thatcham
Good reasons for new Hectors Way link road
It is worth reminding ourselves why the new Hectors Way link was built.
It wasn’t just a momentary whim.
It’s been planned for over 30 years and is the result of careful development works on several projects (the new Boundary Road bridge, the Sainsbury’s store, the demolition of Winchcombe Road, the detoxification and clearance of the old Sterling Cables site etc).
The whole point is to have an acceptable modern two-way road to link the main A339 with the major industrial estate along Hambridge Road/Bone Lane.
Up until Hectors Way was opened the main access and egress (apart from a long detour on the A4) was via two narrow one-way residential roads – Kings Road and Mill Lane.
Paul Walter
Stanley Road, Newbury
Barnum at Watermill is a well-needed joy
Last night we saw a brilliant, barnstorming Barnum.
Yet another triumph for The Watermill.
A well-needed tonic as autumn begins and we await whatever doom and gloom the new Government has in store for us in October.
Richard and Julie Jones
Longacre, Newbury
The balance of evidence on climate change
Science does not aim to prove something is completely true or completely false.
This is used by some contributors to this page to imply that the current increase in global temperatures, and subsequent storms and heatwaves is not linked to the 15 billion tonnes of coal, oil and gas we extract each year.
The balance of evidence very strongly suggests that it is.
It is estimated that 97 per cent to 99 per cent of scientists agree with the following statements:
“It’s warming. It’s us. We’re sure. It’s bad. We can fix it.”
These statements were originally made by the climate scientist Kim Nicholas in 2014, and these are her footnotes:
1. “Warming of the climate system is unequivocal” IPCC AR5 WG1, 2013
2. “Extremely likely (95 per cent) human influence has been the dominant cause of observed warming since mid 20th C” IPCC WG1 SPM, 2013
3. 928 to 0 scientists convinced (Oreskes, 2004); <3 per="" cent="" (anderegg="" et="" al,="">
4. Widespread impacts on water, food, energy systems, IPCC WG2 SPM, 2014
5. See https://www.kimnicholas.com/climate-science-101.html
Dr Pat Watson
East Garston Eco Group
We must do more to support our hospices
Two things are certain in life – taxes and death.
Close to 600,000 people die in the UK annually post pandemic.
About half pass away at home or in a care home with most of the rest in hospital.
Yet about 30,000 people need specialist end-of-life care (nearly five per cent of all deaths) and they will receive it in a hospice.
A much larger number receive palliative care from hospices deploying staff into the community with more than 80 per cent of the hospices’ work accounted this way.
This work is delivered in partnership with the NHS.
Importantly, hospices also support the relatives of the dying and dead including children, but they are now hit being hit by a major funding crisis.
This funding shortage is leading to staff cuts and reductions in services.
Governments both Labour and Conservative have ignored that hospices rely on a combination of NHS contracts and donations.
Medical inflation is greater than normal inflation, and the rising costs and demands have not overall been met by increasing levels of funding from whatever source.
Palliative care is not a sexy subject, but all of us may require it in some way for ourselves or loved ones.
However, having experienced end-of-life care abroad and in this country, both through family and friends, my strong belief is that we do not understand what a great service we have here.
A true NHS should provide care from cradle to the grave.
With annual deaths predicted to rise by about 130,000 by 2040 the need for end of life care will grow.
Expecting that this will all be funded through donations is impractical.
We need to cough up more in tax money to support these vital services provided by a hospice – but please carry on donating.
Every little bit helps.
Luigi Gregori
Liberal Democrat spokesman for North West Hampshire
