OPINION: Letters to the editor of the Newbury Weekly News
Are disabled drivers welcome in Newbury?
First it was moving the Cheap Street disabled parking further from the action.
Then it was reducing the number of disabled spaces in the KFC car park by one (20-25 per cent).
Next was limiting free disabled parking to three hours.
To continue, we lost about eight spaces at The Wharf.
Now we have to pay, by phone, or walk to the KFC car park for a machine, in The Wharf car parks.
Apart from the confusion – do I have to pay or not? – it cannot be many councils that ask disabled customers to pay.
In the future it will be the pedestrianisation of Northbrook Street.
Clearly disabled motorists are not welcome in Newbury.
Ian Cameron
Wood Ridge, Newbury
Irregularities in the reports about the LRIE
My understanding is that the report into the Faraday Road/Monks Lane debacle has now been written – I look forward to reading it
The council issued two planning reports on the Monks Lane development , one referring to the Joint Statement claiming it was an enhanced replacement and another with the enhanced replacement wording removed.
They also told councillors it was not a replacement for Faraday Road.
This means that one of the planning reports was wrong.
It seems that the councillors and council officials have not been keeping count as this would make it the third time that there has been irregularities in reports all on properties adjoining the LRIE.
Faraday Plaza, Newspaper House and the replacement of the former Faraday Road stadium.
Instead of looking at them separately isn’t it time they were looked at together?
With the costs of legal cost, road junctions, buying its own land, architects’ fees, loss of payments such as CIL, S106 etc and lost council tax payments it is difficult to estimate the cost, but surely the council employ people to see correct procedures are followed, and these things do not happen.
Ian Hall
Ashampstead
So much in Newbury has changed for the worse
What has happened to our Newbury?
People were kind and neighbours would help each other in times of crisis.
All you hear now is people, even children, carrying knives, also stabbing and killing people.
Nearly all the old shops are gone, replaced with more expensive ones.
The bus station being moved further away from the shops making it harder for the elderly to walk.
The children went to Saturday morning pictures for 6d, which was my pocket money.
Some children don’t want to go to school because they are addicted to their phones, even during the night, when they should be sleeping.
The NHS is pushed to the limits with people waiting longer for operations and being left in corridors in the A&E.
This should not be.
I was diagnosed wrong on two occasions, one of which could have been fatal.
We have too many people to see to and not enough staff to do it.
Everything has gone up in price – shops, bills – which means some people going without.
Things have changed, not always for the best.
Name and address supplied
Thanks for making birthday memorable
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the guests who attended my beloved wife Sheila’s 80th birthday on February 23.
Thank you to Holly, Daisy and the Post Barn team, this hidden gem in the beautiful West Berkshire countryside was a wonderful venue that set the perfect ambiance for the occasion.
The food was delicious and the atmosphere warm and welcoming.
Thank you to my sister-in-law Sylvia and Hethertons of Newbury for the beautiful, exquisitely decorated birthday cakes, to Jerome for his magical entertainment.
Thank you to Josh and Maddy for all of their help on the day.
Lastly my wife and I also deeply appreciated those who contributed to Newbury Cancer Care in lieu of gifts – a total of £615 was raised on the day, not including online donations.
Thank you also for the beautiful flowers that have added a burst of colour to our home and the thoughtful gifts she received.
Thank you all once again for making this milestone a memorable and heartfelt event.
Leslie Pocklington
Long Lane, Shaw
Why we should bring back death penalty
Murderers don’t get blamed for their crimes any more.
A recent major newspaper article on Axel Rudakabana stated “the police failed, social services failed, mental health services failed, Prevent programme failed, the courts failed, the youth justice system failed, and all of them knew that Axel was violent and a danger to the public”.
Why are we blaming all these people?
They didn’t murder those little girls.
Axel – like other dangerous criminals – leave prison one day.
Whose fault is it when he and others go on to commit more crimes?
There is only one solution – the return of the death penalty.
Dead people are no longer a threat to us all – problem solved.
What use are they staying alive? Why are we all forced to hand over our money, to keep them hidden away, then live in fear of them being set free one day?
Meanwhile many are in favour of the Dignity In Dying movement (myself included).
But how crazy is it, that we will deliver a death sentence to our good innocent people, many of whom worked all their lives contributing into society?
They’ve committed no crime, given their all, but they’re incurably sick.
So that makes it okay, to give them the death sentence.
Isn’t there a madness here?
We’ll kill our good people. Not the bad.
We can’t cure or change murderers or rapists – a spell resting in prison won’t undo the horror of their deeds.
It’s all about the rights of the murderers and rapists.
Not the rights of the innocent public, who must live in fear of these people.
What about our rights?
Isn’t it time that murderers and rapists receive the death sentence?
Let’s free up the prison cells we need.
And stop forcing us to hand over money we work to earn; to pay for murderers and rapists to have breaks in prison.
Whereupon they get released and we’ve got to keep paying out to have them watched as they’re likely to threaten us.
We don’t want murderers and rapists among us.
There is only one solution.
Dead people don’t commit crimes any more.
Mr Kirby
Cold Ash
UK must pull the plug on Trump’s America
The pioneers who founded North America divide into pilgrims and pirates.
With the rise of Donald J Trump to a second term of presidency, the pirates have taken over the ship and are making the pilgrims walk the plank.
This is not the old Uncle Sam we knew and perhaps grudgingly admired.
Under Donald Trump the USA is a hostile nation, pitting its interests against those of most other nations, the exception being Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
The USA is no longer an ally to the democratic nations of the world, only to despotic regimes.
This was made clear on Friday, when Trump, accusing Ukraine president Volodimir Zelensky of disrespect, tore into him like a mad dog, repeatedly insulting the victim of invasion with lie after lie, in doing so leaving no doubt as to whose side he was on.
Which leaves Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer with a dilemma.
His planned visit to Trump was ill-considered from the start.
He should have considered that any deal or concessions from Trump would not be to Britain’s advantage.
I assume Sir Keir knows what ‘America First’ means.
Furthermore, the invitation to Trump for a second state visit was an embarrassing faux pas.
Trump announced his intention of making Canada a state of America.
It happens that the head of state for Canada is our king, from whom the letter of invitation was coaxed by the Government.
This is highly disrespectful to the monarch.
During the visit Trump claimed the US had gifted financial support to Ukraine, whereas Europe had advanced it as a loan.
He was immediately corrected by President Macron on Monday, pointing out it was not a loan.
He repeated the same lie to Starmer on Thursday, who also corrected him, then repeated it in a speech in the afternoon.
He repeated it on Friday to Zelensky in his tirade.
He also claimed US aid amounted to $350bn, whereas it was a mere $119bn.
The point is, how can anyone seriously consider doing business with such a dishonest, dubious character?
Sir Keir Starmer visiting Trump brought to mind Neville
Chamberlain waving his piece of paper after visiting Hitler in 1938, an allusion recently used in regard to Putin.
But Putin and Trump are one double-headed monster set to carve up Europe between them.
Britain must pull the plug on Trump’s America and unite with our European allies for mutual survival.
JE Turner
Beancroft Road, Thatcham
