Wirral News readers’ letters: 28/1/09

Jan 28 2009 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

Council’s decision is immoral

THE outrageous decision to close Eastham Library on a mere whim, without consultation, without consideration and without thought is just the latest example of the slipshod way in which Wirral Council is run.

The coalition mish-mash of old Labour lefties and woolly Lib Dems that control Wirral Council have so far succeeded in closing a much-loved Eastham Village School, have allowed a planning application to dump waste next to the Eastham conservation area and now, to cap it all, they’ve have got rid of Eastham Library.

To say “right, we’ll keep Bromborough Library open because they made a fuss, but close Eastham because they didn’t”, when the closure of Eastham had not even been an option, is more than a disgrace – it is immoral.

Wirral Council’s website boasts about its commitment to ‘openness, transparency and consultation’, - perhaps it should add - ‘except for Eastham’.

DAVID ALLAN

Shameful move

I THOUGHT when public libraries opened the idea was that working class people would have access to literature and education.

Although we now have a better educational system many libraries provide computer access and computer lessons as well as toddlers’ and children’s book clubs where they learn the joy of reading.

Shame on you Libs/Labs for allowing this to happen. Now some people face a three-mile round hike or £3+ to borrow a book.

PAUL SIMM

VIA E-MAIL

Fir comment

I FEEL I must disagree with P A Glover on the subject of Christmas trees in Liscard.

I love trees, as they are such wonderful living beings. They belong alive and growing in a forest, not felled and left to die slowly on a concrete slab.

It is bad enough when they are felled for timber, but at least the wood then fills a useful purpose. I feel very sad every time I see a tree removed from its natural place and brought to a town square just so that for a few short weeks it can be decorated with lights.

At a time when we are faced with global warming we should not be adding to the problem by removing trees, which absorb large quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during their lifetime – it’s not just the tropical rainforest areas which are suffering from deforestation.

I did enjoy the delicate lights on the living trees; this must be much closer to the tradition established by our ancestors.

I am sure they would have decorated the living trees in their area. They would certainly not have had access to Spruce Fir trees, which are not native to Britain.

I think a better idea this year would be to add more decoration to the living trees and leave the Spruce Fir in the forest where it can continue to protect the atmosphere from global warming.

AUDREY MOORE

WALLASEY

Soaring wages

I READ that staff salaries in local government are rocketing and that many are now paid over £50,000 per annum.

Are our elected councillors aware of how many fall into this bracket? Do they care? Do they even take any interest in salaries at all?

If we had fewer employees could we keep open the libraries, leisure centres etc?

Our councillors do not seem to have kept control over the past ten years and now we are paying the penalty.

A drive around Wirral will show millions of pounds spent unnecessarily on thousands of road signs, miles of yellow and white lines, hundreds of additional traffic lights, hundreds of altered road junctions etc.

Our councillors seem to have their eyes shut.

D ROBERTS

VIA E-MAIL

Wards proposal

Following the disgraceful debacle of council proceedings it is high time the population of Wirral were allowed a meaningful debate.

Why does Wirral need the amount of councillors we have at present? They serve no useful purpose as they clearly do not represent the people’s views.

I would propose we group the present Wirral wards as follows:

Group A: & B: New Brighton, Wallasey, Liscard, Seacombe, Bidston, Claughton, Prenton,

Group C: Leasowe, Moreton, Saughall, Hoylake, Meols, West Kirby.

Group D: Woodchurch, Greasby, Frankby, Irby, Thurstaston, Upton.

Group E: Heswall, Pensby, Thingwall, Bebington, Clatterbridge.

Group F: Birkenhead, Oxton, Tranmere, Rock Ferry, Bromborough, Eastham.

Six groupings, each with about the same population number - roughly 52,000 - each sharing a political spectrum and cross section of the population.

This would represent about 50% of savings of the council budget in fees and expenses plus authority staffing costs to Council, thus a saving to the ratepayers of many, many thousands of pounds annually.

This would create a smaller Council but better quality for all of us.

Any Councillor or council official care to comment, and explain why this is not feasible?

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED

People power

I WAS born in Queens Avenue, Great Meols and have lived in the area all my life.

The library is a place to meet people and discuss the news and update friends. Students from all schools go along to use the facilities.

Ratepayers who could not afford some of the expensive books were able to go along to the library.

The library of Hoylake will be kept open by the power of the people and I am awaiting good news.

DESNA MACLEAN

WEST KIRBY

Beyond the pale

WHAT an absolute disgrace Wirral Council is. Our elected councillors should hang their heads in shame at their decision to sanction library and leisure centre closures.

No-one can doubt the difficult financial position the council is currently in and whilst we can all appreciate that savings need to be made, to propose such drastic cuts to vital services goes beyond the pale.

It seems that in these times where community values are constantly being eroded, these proposals will only exacerbate the problem.

Libraries in particular provide a vital resource to Wirral residents from the very young to the very old.

Our councillors are elected to represent the people of the borough and one would hope, would act in the best interests of the people of the borough.

Could someone please explain to me how these proposals represent the wishes of the people?

JOANNE SMITH

HIGHER BEBINGTON