Readers' Letters November 25

Readers' letters from the November 25 issue of the Observer.

Three inches of rain in 12 hours is undoubtedly going to cause flooding and create headlines.

We are very sorry for those whose houses were flooded – drying-out a house is a miserable business – but the recent drama is likely to mask the continuing inability of West Sussex County Council to deal with local roads which are always flooded after rain.

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The pictures provided were taken on the Monday, before the downpour, and after only three or four hours of moderate rain.

Prior to this, there had been a relatively-dry autumn, and yet there were more or less deep puddles, or ponds as WSCC not unsurprisingly refers to them, in all the usual places; The Broadway, Broyle Road, Bognor Road, College Lane and the bypass north of Portfield, and no doubt more.

You can see the difficulties caused to pedestrians, cyclists and car drivers when roads are reduced from two lanes to one and pavements are submerged.

The Chichester Society raised the issue with WSCC in March, to be told of high water tables and inefficient soakaways.

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Water tables are at their lowest at the end of summer, so that excuse can no longer be valid, unless we are to be condemned to a totally unsatisfactory amphibious existence throughout the winter.

As for pleading inefficient soakaways, two of the largest ponds, at Bognor Road and at Portfield, are within striking distance of disused gravel pits.

Water from a new soakaway at the edge of each pit, to filter our dirt off the road, would soon make its way to the pit.

It’s time that WSCC thought less about difficulties and more about solutions.

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Once that’s sorted, perhaps we can tackle the Highways Agency who have responsibility for the A27 itself?

David Wilson, Treasurer, The Chichester Society

THIS IS an appreciation letter to the Chichester police, Sergeant Blackburn and Mr Taylor of the Chichester District Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership.

I am 79 years old and my neighbour is 90 and we had terrific support from those gentlemen dealing with a case of continuing intimidation, bullying, and just impossible behaviour.

We got in contact with the Chichester District Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership and the non-emergency police.

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In both instances the courteous behaviour, involvement and care was outstanding.

We feel safer now and hope further instances will be eliminated.

Ann Taylor, Chichester

IN 1951, the proprietor of the Alpha Garage, Westergate – opposite what is now Oliver’s Meadow – told me of plans to build a road from Eastergate Memorial area – where the school is now – to a flyover east of Shripney Crossing to link up with the double road just beyond the Robin Hood.

He decided to move away as he did not want to be running a garage on what would be a quiet country lane – the A29.

It is now 2010.

Brian O’Gorman, Chichester

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REMEMBER THE bad old days when people in social housing were segregated on council house estates?

Chichester District Council is being asked to return to this discredited model.

A housing company which has a contract with Chichester District Council to provide and run its social housing is seeking to do just that.

It is phrased as ‘helping to rebalance the housing tenure profile of the area’.

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What that means is simply tacking the new social housing for West Wittering on to the old local authority estate of Summerfield Road on the outermost edge of the village.

Concentrating social housing in this fashion is the antithesis of inclusive sustainable communities.

National policy has for many years called for ‘mixed’ housing, abandoning the ghetto approach altogether.

However, many people would like to turn back the clock; resurrecting the marginalisation of tenants in social housing is being justified in some quarters by comments such as ‘easier to police’!

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In order to run social housing as a single estate, a greenfield site within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty would have to be used.

So part of the AONB, in our trust for future generations, in which building is only permitted if ‘unavoidable’, is to be chipped away in order to marginalise social housing.

The AONB is central to the economy of Chichester District; tourism brings in many millions a year.

The status of the harbour, having the highest level of environmental global recognition possible, is currently much in the news.

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Human activity is endangering its biodiversity in all sorts of ways.

The council is now required by law to prevent this getting worse and to improve matters.

Allowing this proposal to go ahead would indeed endanger a very special bird: the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Might this also be a test case example of a local authority under immediate pressure to address their funding deficit, attempting to sell off publicly-owned land around Chichester Harbour, which is protected by local, national, EU and international legislation?

Bridget Ash, Matthew McKim and Nick Gray, Chichester

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THANK YOU to all those kind people who voted for Tea and Chat to receive the £1,000 from Chandlers Community Fund and congratulations to the winners.

We will be continuing our good work at the Boys Club and if anyone has a redundant wheelchair we would be delighted to give it a good home.

Christine Rowlands (on behalf of all at Tea and Chat), The Boys Club, Little London, Chichester

THE WAY Sidlesham Parish Council conducts its business is becoming increasingly bizarre.

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I attended the council meeting recently because there was to be a discussion about ‘Speed and Safety in Mill Lane/Rookery Lane’, something of great concern to most residents.

Before that there was an item on the agenda, ‘Complaint against the council’.

When it was reached the chairman would allow no discussion.

He would not even say by whom the complaint was made nor what it was about.

He merely said the council would not consider it.

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That was strange because the council’s own rule under its formal complaints procedure is that on receipt of a complaint ‘the chairman will appoint a panel of three councillors’ to examine it.

That had clearly not been done; the decision to dismiss the complaint unexamined was not even made by the council but by the chairman alone, who now squashed all public debate.

Councillor Pound protested about this secrecy whereupon the chairman offered to whisper the reason in her ear.

That apparently did not appeal to her so she did not press the point, merely comparing the administration with that of Burma.

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What is this secret that casts over the council a shadow so dark that the chairman will not speak its name?

Who is the mysterious complainant, now perhaps shivering under the threat of house arrest?

We aren’t likely to know before the next council meeting in January and I for one am not counting on knowing then or perhaps ever.

Incidentally, the concerns about speed and safety, though expressed forcibly by one resident, were, as usual, kicked into the long grass.

Paul Albrecht, Mill Lane, Sidlesham

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I READ your recent article on the possibility of West Stoke House Restaurant with Rooms closing because it is unviable, with great sadness.

Over the past few years we have been coming down to the area once or twice a year on holiday and ALWAYS have lunch at West Stoke House.

As regular restaurant-goers both locally to us around Oxford and London, I cannot think of a place with better and more inspirational food – the combination of flavours is not short of superb.

Although I would also highly recommend Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester and L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon.

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It is a sad day when a restaurant of such excellence disappears because it is not appreciated enough.

The service is both good and professional and my only negative comment about West Stoke House is that the decor is too eclectic and does not live up to the high standard of the food.

Alice Williams, Wantage, Oxon

WHAT IS is the matter with Bosham?

Up and down the country, towns and villages held services at their war memorials – not Bosham.

There were only about ten people standing in the rain at the monument when the bells rang at 11am on the 14th.

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I am sure many of the service personnel commemorated by their names on the monument died in mud and rain.

A few minutes at the monument would have been much more respectful than sitting in a nice, cosy church.

R H Hemblade, Bosham

WITH ALL the fuss of ‘where will it be?’, ‘when will it be?’ has anyone thought how ironic it would be if Prince William’s commanding officer refuses to give him the time off for the wedding?

Jim McCulloch, Newlands Lane, Chichester

TWICE IN one week recently the A27 bypass has come to a grinding halt because of minor incidents made into dramas by the agencies that are in place to deal with such events.

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First a very small chemical spillage which, if it had happened on an industrial site, would have been cleaned up in 20 minutes with no adverse affects.

Any resulting damaged containers would be secured for collection by the companies licensed hazardous waste contractor.

Less than a week later some vegetable oil caused similar delays while the alleged highly-trained experts spent four hours scratching their heads deciding what to do about it.

Please don’t let anyone tell me there was a danger of either of these products going into the drainage system.

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Anyone who goes anywhere near the bypass after anything more substantial than a heavy dew will know that the drains are permanently blocked to the extent they cause serious flooding and danger to road users.

On Saturday morning after only 15 millimetres of rain overnight the road was flooded in all the usual places.

What was the Highways Agency doing?

Quelle surprise! Parked on the side of the road looking at it.

The cost to haulage companies, businesses and private individuals must run in to hundreds of thousands of pounds, the inconvenience is unquantifiable.

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These agencies need to weigh up the tiny chance of environmental damage against the certain air pollution damage from the miles of queuing traffic they cause.

It is alleged that not far from here King Canute turned back the tide.

Give a man a van with a flashing light and they seem to be able to stop the tide of traffic for hours on end.

Jonathan Fulford, Bosham

‘AT THE going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember’ – yes.

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Only it was a horse-drawn carriage with jingling bells advertising Christmas at Stansted Park plus other passing noisy vehicles during the two minutes’ silence at the cenotaph.

This is what the parade and supporting crowd heard as they paid their respects to loved ones lost in military conflicts past and present.

How insensitive and disrespectful.

Why was there no traffic control?

The police were present during this important service of remembrance.

Mr & Mrs L Shipp, Pound Farm Road, Chichester

I LIVE in Bognor but had to be in Chichester on Sunday so I decided to take myself along to the memorial service on the corner of New Park Road.

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It was fairly well attended despite the usual cold and drizzle, as befits the occasion, so I was observing from the pavement.

All was quiet as we waited for the service to begin, and the procession of dignitaries to pass up along St Pancras.

But, just as the service was getting under way, the road was reopened and the constant stream of traffic whizzing round the ring road totally drowned out what was being said.

OK, you don’t want emergency vehicles to stop, or operations in hospitals to be put on hold, but I did think it was a great shame that so many people (as displayed by the motorists) did not sacrifice two minutes of their day, on a cold Sunday morning, just once in the year, to stop what they were doing and think about the people that sacrifice everything to keep us safe, and protect our way of life.

Steve Pullen, Bognor Regis

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I REFER to your recent report concerning the transport of shingle to recharge the beach at Selsey.

I would like to correct one significant error.

The report stated there could be between eight and ten lorry movements per day.

The actual numbers are eight to ten movements PER HOUR.

This will result in considerable disruption, damage and distress for the residents of Hunston and Sidlesham.

Cllr Tricia Tull, Chichester District Councillor, Sidlesham and Hunston Ward

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I WOULD like to say a big thank-you to everyone who has sent used postage stamps to me in aid of the Guide Dogs for the Blind charity.

I am always in need of all types of postage stamps – including foreign and Christmas – and would be grateful if you could pass this message on to your friends and contacts at home and abroad so that I can continue to raise funds to support Guide Dogs for the Blind in forthcoming years.

If you are able to help I would be grateful if you could cut the stamps from their envelopes (leaving a 1cm margin around the stamp) and send them to me at:

Myrna Chave, PO Box 91, Virginia Water, Surrey GU25 9AR

I REFER to MP Andrew Tyrie’s recent article and justification for the Public Sector spending cuts.

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It is clear that there is a financial mess and something needs to be done.

However, based upon the coalition’s plan to do something one can only hope the position does not get worse, the spectre of a double dip recession continuing to loom large.

Andrew Tyrie’s helpful article highlights inadvertently that the problem stems not from the size of the public sector but from the £80bn reduction in tax revenues coming from the recession.

The coalition’s plan to slash the £80bn from the public sector spend to address this comes with a much increased risk of the dreaded double dip and a further reduction in tax revenues.

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What then, a further reduction in public sector spend and more cuts?

Some would say that the planned reduction owes more to political dogma (small government is best) 
than a measured response to the problems faced.

When the economy recovers and the tax take increases the scale of public sector expenditure will be significantly below Mr Tyrie’s 40 per cent figure, what then, will the expenditure be increased?

One thinks not; one thinks that the people who will suffer from the cuts, a significant proportion of who will be among the most needy, will be just left to get on with it regardless of quality of life or the long-term impact on society.

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While the government suggests it cares, I think what we will find is that when it really comes down to it Andrew and Co care most for themselves.

P West, Hunston

DESPITE all the publicity regarding the lack of Christmas lights in the city centre, I did not realise the festive season was approaching so quickly – until I saw the hot cross buns in Marks & Spencer!

Chris Mathers, Barton Close, Pagham

I WAS interested to see the front page of the paper last week about the accident that occurred in The Broadway on Tuesday November 9 – First aider: Why I fear ambulance service will get worse.

I had to go to catch the bus to Singleton and saw some of what was described and it was distressing although the unfortunate person was well attended.

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I did wonder why it took the ambulance so long (it hadn’t arrived before the bus) and as a second 
police car came and delivered a large white plastic sheet I thought the worst had happened and that the unfortunate person had expired while lying in the road!

The first aider I think did a first-class job as he also directed the traffic to keep it moving; he should be recommended for a civic award.

I realise you cannot name the victim for reasons of patient confidentiality but it would be nice to know if they are on the road to recovery (sorry if that’s a pun, it’s not intended) and that their treatment wasn’t adversely affected by the long wait.

Pat Saunders, The Broadway, Summersdale

I AM taking Arun District Council to task for failing miserably to make a clean sweep when it comes to leaves in and around Aldwick, particularly the lower end of Barrack Lane.

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I know that times are hard and the illusory ex-Labour leader Gordon Brown has left the nation with one of the biggest budget deficits in living memory, but this should not prevent the council from fulfilling its obligations when it comes to keeping the streets and footpaths clean.

Every autumn this end of Barrack Lane is buried in leaves and the council seems quite content to turn a blind eye.

The leaves pile up on the footpaths, block the drains, the road floods and the result after every downpour is chaos.

For the past three years, my wife and I have conscientiously swept the footpath outside our house and put the leaves in our brown bin which we pay the council more than £60 a year for.

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The council men appear from time to time with their industrial blowers but make little impact. Perhaps we should claim a rebate on our council tax?

Perhaps pigs might fly?

Things, no doubt, will get tougher as David Cameron’s austerity measures bite.

Maybe, just maybe, the council will have just a penny or two left in its overstretched coffers to spend on unblocking the drains and preventing floods.

George Campbell, Barrack Lane, Aldwick

With reference to ‘The Floods’ on the Tuesday around the Felpham area, I would like to publicly thank(?) the motorist who decided to drive down Southview Road, Felpham at approximately 6.30pm.

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This road is obviously a ‘no-through road’ as it has a sign at the top, is fairly narrow and has a large fence at the end.

The morning after you left, it was discovered that in squeezing between two cars and attempting to turn around (rather than reversing) you have caused damage to both cars on the road, a garage door and the car inside the garage with your turning ‘skills’.

I would invite you to view the damage, provide your insurance details and apologise in person as you never bothered to advise us of what you had achieved on the night – rather you drove away ‘Scot-free’.

Thank you.

Paul Burgess, Southview Road, Felpham

THE RECENT flooding comes as no surprise – just wait until all Site Six is concreted and tarmaced over.

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When the enquiry into Site Six was held I asked what provisions were to be made for storm water drainage?

I did not get an answer.

The problem with Site Six is that the ground is level, and allows no significant fall in drainage runs.

The fields north of the present developments in North Felpham, where I live, usually have large pools of standing water in winter, indicating that natural soakaway is poor.

Where this water will go after full development is not clear.

Obviously, the present system is inadequate.

KM Wells, Felpham

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IN A nutshell Site Six should never have been given the go-ahead.

It was clear to everyone (except the planners) that to build on a flood plane would have a major impact on flooding in the area.

I feel sorry for all the disruption and chaos caused, but any anger or damage should be referred to Arun District Council along with any claims for compensation.

It has been clearly pointed out many times by many people to the council that flooding, was a high risk and the recent event just reinforces that prediction.

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With the predicted future weather changes due to climate change it will only get worse.

It is a complete mystery to me that the highly-paid planning officers – which we the taxpayer fund – seem to have forgotten some of the most fundamental problems regarding the behaviour of water. Perhaps they should read about King Canute as all of us oldies did when were five or six.

Alan Ambridge, West Meads

I’M WITH Claire Amaladoss and her Don’t judge us all by the violent few letter in last week’s Observer.

I, along with friends and students from my school, took part in the march on London to protest against rising tuition fees.

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To say it has received bad press would be an understatement.

It doesn’t seem that anyone has taken any notice of the 50,000 students who went to London intent on marching peacefully through the streets and getting our voices heard, without causing a riot.

I am a 16-year-old student and have just started studying my AS-levels and have, for a few years, been hoping to go to university following my A-levels.

However, this hope is becoming more and more unrealistic as it is also for many other students.

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Further education is becoming more like a privilege for only those who can afford it, and students are constantly changing their plans, taking university out of their future.

This is happening simply because people are put off by the drastic rise in tuition fees.

It isn’t a case of being able to pay it off when you can, it’s being stuck with debts of £9,000 a year, a figure no-one wants to be presented with.

There are students up and down the country who have scrapped the idea of university altogether simply because they see the debts as unfeasible and unrealistic to pay off.

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The government is allowing young students to think of university as something that will never happen for them and proposing rises in tuition fees doesn’t encourage them to think about university as a realistic option for their future.

No-one should not be allowed to go to university simply because of their background and their wealth.

Students have been left feeling like there is no-one left to stand their corner after the Liberal Democrats have gone back on their word and Labour have lost their status as the champion of students.

With no-one left to stand for them students took it into their own hands, with an organised peaceful protest.

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However, after the drastic turn of events on Wednesday, students are now being recognised as uninformed, naïve, violent people, and the majority are not any of these things.

People are taking what they’ve seen in the media and assuming it was the whole of the 50,000 students that either carried out these acts or supported them.

However, many are very angry at what Wednesday turned into and feel that students as a whole have been let down by a minority who destroyed the peacefulness of Wednesday’s protest.

The majority of people went with the intentions of getting themselves heard and putting their point across, not to break into the Millbank building, but some clearly did have that intention.

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The majority of students are not uninformed, naïve or violent.

Students are left with a bad reputation and a hope that the general public see what Wednesday was meant to be and realise it is unfair to cast so many people out of university.

Emily Jarvis, Sandfield Avenue, Littlehampton

THE ARUN SOUNDS ladies chorus would like to thank the Bognor Regis Observer for publicising our ‘Learn a song day’ for Children in Need and also many thanks to the ladies who attended the day.

We had a really great day learning to sing Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree in four-part harmony and raised £170 for the charity in the process.

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Any ladies who love to sing and would like to know more about the chorus, please phone Madeleine on 01243 826448 for an informal chat.

You can be sure of a welcome.

Marilyn Collins, PRO, The Arun Sounds

I AM writing in total agreement that the Halal way of slaughtering (murdering) our sheep, is totally, totally wrong and must be stopped.

And if it is to continue (I am not that naive to believe that it won’t) then we MUST know that the animal has suffered and killed this way so those that wish to can vote with our money and REFUSE to buy it.

I am an animal lover but not an extremist, but maybe those people that are and go around releasing animals from research laboratories, could find out where these abattoirs are make a HUGE protest and set these poor animals free!

Where is Compassion in World Farming in all of this?

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If anybody knows who it is we protest to can they write in?

This awful cruelty won’t stop or go away, so let us at least make our opinions heard.

E Rowe, Nyetimber

I HAVE had the best laugh for ages thanks to Mr Boddy and his lovely mother – Getting old is fun, Nov 4.

One thing she has is a wonderful sense of humour.

I share all her ailments plus two cysts and stones.

I shall frame the cutting and have a chuckle.

IEE Weston (Mrs), West Street, Bognor Regis

I WOULD like to thank both Evelyn Stuart and John Stuart for showing such compassion in their letters about the Bognor Regis seafront shelter.

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There is little I can add, except for the following quotes: ‘Ask not for whom the bell tolls’, ‘There, but for the grace of God’, and rather apt at this time of the year, ‘There is no room at the inn’.

Elizabeth French, Worcester Close, Bognor Regis

I JUST wanted to write to say thank you to Aldwick Parish Council for the memorial service at the Millennium Garden on Thursday, November 11.

There was also tea, coffee and biscuits served after the service.

Many people attended even though the weather was wet and windy.

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There was a good atmosphere in the hall even though it was ‘full to standing room only’.

A pleasant time for all who came.

It was a well-organised event, so thanks to all involved in organising this event.

Well done.

G Jarvis (Mrs), Pryors Lane, Aldwick

RE KING Edward VII – Midhurst.

The spotlight is now on Chichester District Council as this first major planning application in the National Park is to be considered.

It will set a precedent.

It would seem bizarre if it permitted the destruction of a large area of woodland for housing, outside the hospital grounds, in an unsustainable location.

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An area that is enjoyed by walkers, cyclists and nature-lovers because of its beauty and tranquillity.

Watch that space!

Marie-Claire Arrowsmith, Treyford, Midhurst

I WRITE in response to Linda Westmore’s account to the Observer that the response of West Sussex County Council to the danger residents and pedestrians in North Street are confronted with on a daily basis is ‘barking mad’ comes as no surprise to me, a resident in East Street who becomes ‘barking angry’ on the rare occasions I walk up or down it.

These same vehicles which use it in such a cavalier fashion as she describes, also enter East Street and if sufficiently large, do commonly mount the pavements causing both damage and danger.

But so the police tell me ‘that is alright because the pavement is part of the road and if, in order to get through they need to use it, then they can!’

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Until such time presumably as they hit a pedestrian with their wing mirrors, send flying a baby buggy (your grandchild), or mow down a mobility vehicle (your granny/grandad).

If pedestrians attempt to cross either to the Cow Yard, or at the Obelisk, they are in much danger but to my suggestion of a safer crossing at the Obelisk in view of the daily danger I see happening there, I got the reply ‘it was too dangerous to put in a crossing because if somebody got injured 
on it, the council could be blamed but if there was no crossing, they could not’!

All these negative arguments are a disgrace but this is what Petworth gets from WSCC when any suggestion is put forward by residents for any improvement to pedestrian safety in our town.

Council officers have been walked around this town in earlier years and had all the most dangerous spots pointed out to them but they are prepared to do nothing until accident statistics force their hand and they have not yet got them – it is the way the system works and it is a scandal.

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The council have the audacity to state that ‘there is no necessity to walk along this stretch of road’.

What planet are these people on?

How are pedestrians to get from Hampers Green into town if not along North Street?

If they are to walk and not to drive there is no other route,.

Are they all to drive into town?

Is this what they should be encouraging in the green economy?

Quite the opposite.

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Are these spokesmen around in the morning when the mothers and children walk to school and the dog walkers walk to the Park, all running the gauntlet of North Street’s inadequate pavements and lack of a safe crossing point?

The road does not need to be widened, it needs to be restricted with pinch-points so that the traffic has to slow down and show more consideration.

It is done elsewhere but nothing gets done in Petworth – low priority.

I read the town council was pressing for a 20mph speed reduction but unless this could be achieved by some other method than monitoring – too dangerous, argues the council – physical impediment would not require this.

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Maybe in order to do this, de-classification would be necessary, and yes why not?

Why should a route designed for horses and carts be ‘fit for purpose’ for today’s increasingly large private, commercial and agricultural vehicles to pass through without exercising very due care and consideration to the layout of this town.

I note in the Observer of November 11, a scheme is gathering pace in Chichester for a reduction to 20mph in residential roads as part of their road safety campaign and this is being given backing by Chichester City Council.

Very promising for Chichester but what about Petworth’s total lack of road safety in all it ‘residential streets’ and its present 30mph totally inappropriate speed regime.

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Concern by residents in Angel Street seemed likewise to hit the buffers and there is very real danger there too but apparently nothing needs to be done.

I hope Linda Westmore will be successful in drawing the attention of Nick Herbert, our effective member of parliament, to the concerns she in particular and we all over time raised (but to which we are met with a brick wall by our county council) and trust that we may see some action not after but before a tragedy occurs.

MJ Rudkin (Mrs), Petworth

WHEN YOU come to think of that billion-pound submarine going aground in Scotland – I don’t know if it could have set one of those warheads off, but it just shows how vulnerable we are under the-powers-that-be.

What do we want all these submarines for anyway?

How can it be a deterrent?

You can’t let these warheads off anyway as it would be the end of the world.

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I hope they have shipped the captain who was steering that sub off to Specsavers.

CA Till, Petworth

RE YOUR stories about ‘Scout wearing grandfather’s medals at Remembrance services’.

On behalf of Tom and the Streeter family, we would like to thank all those people that have helped to raise the awareness of the unfortunate incident regarding our son wearing his grandfather’s medals at the Remembrance services within the Scout movement both this year and last year.

We are extremely pleased that this issue has now been resolved and that the wearing of a grandfather’s medals by a Scout on appropriate occasions has now been accepted by the Petworth and Pulborough Scout District.

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We would like to extend our thanks to the Scout Association and Petworth and Pulborough District Commissioner for reconsidering their ruling on this matter.

We would also like to make it very clear that we all have the utmost respect for the Pulborough Sea Scouts Group which does so much for its members and would especially like to thank Andy Frey and Hadleigh Russell for their hard work, commitment and enthusiasm in leading the group.

Martyn and Paula Streeter, West Chiltington Road, Pulborough

I would like to thank the Observer for resolving the wearing of medals by Scouts on Remembrance Day.

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The decision not to be allowed to wear them for the past two years was very upsetting for Tom.

He understood the reason for wearing them and wore them with pride, but this was refused at the last minute on each occasion.

I am sure he will wear his grandfather’s medals with even more pride, knowing that now he is able to do so without repercussions.

I look forward to reading other readers’ opinions on this issue in due course.

Jan Thorp, Pinewood Way, Midhurst