Published at 05:18, Friday, 30 January 2009

I FIRMLY believe that for its size and population, Carlisle is the worst city I have ever travelled through.YOUR correspondent, Anne Marston, is quite clearly living in the past (The Cumberland News, December 19).Regarding the story; Birds of prey threatened (The Cumberland News, December 24), the news item indicated that six hen harriers carrying transmitters have been lost in 12 months.n Regional leaders on both sides of the Border are seeking up to £200,000 to fund a feasibility study into plans for a barrage over the Solway Firth to harness tidal energy. (The Cumberland News, December 24).TIDAL power is important and can provide useful and less intermittent energy than wind power. NOT again that this very poor concept is trotted out.FORGET fish, otters and any other wildlife. We have to live in the real world and keep warm and cook as well as travel and use energy in the economy. AFTER watching with interest a Border TV programme on the subject, I have always thought that Carlisle, our county’s “capital city”, should have an airport.THE inexorable increase in council tax continues. Can anything be done to arrest these increases?IN THESE days of doom, gloom and negative reporting, it is a welcome uplift to the spirits to see the Christmas lights in Brampton.WHILST on guide duty at Carlisle Cathedral during Christmas week, I showed two families around.

Warwick Road, London Road and Scotland Road, our three main arteries, are constantly blocked, particularly Warwick Road.

We now find that just to get us all off to a flying start for 2009, Victoria Place is to be closed for 10 weeks – yes you did read that correctly, for 10 weeks.

I wonder how often during that time we will be able to walk down Victoria Place to find absolutely no-one from United Utilities actually working.

I wonder, too, how many people will be allocated to work on a project which will cause total misery to hundreds of commuters.

One thing is for certain, unless those in charge of traffic management get their ideas into gear, this town will slowly but surely become a ghost town as businesses pull out due to the traffic chaos.

Obviously the planned ring road is still very far from being opened and one wonders how useful it will be anyway.

Park and ride must be an option, but it needs to be well funded and thought out. Buses are useless as they suffer the same fate as cars.

Unpopular as it would be, charges for driving into Carlisle must be an option.

Making Warwick Road one way in and London Road one way out is another option, though a potentially tricky one.

Whatever happens, unless radical action or immense improvements to traffic flow systems come into being no-one will actually want to travel into Carlisle.

ANDREW T MITCHELLBroadwathCarlisle

Having attended Carlisle and County High School For Girls from 1939 to 1950, she is quite clearly the benefactor of a selective system which separated the sexes in terms of their education.

The school at this point would have somewhere in the region of 300 pupils – all well behaved and biddable.

She would have experienced domestic science lessons in rooms along the corridor which was described as dangerous as the concrete flooring had potholes.

As an example of how times move on, the school has a practical block in which the same subject, now called food studies, is taught and which is to be retained as it is deemed fit for purpose. If the old domestic science rooms were satisfactory, why were they replaced?

Ms Marston will not have experienced the tightly jammed corridors when some 1,500 pupils or so move at the end of each lesson. The buildings raise a serious health and safety question.

Ms Marston goes on to raise the emotive argument of the nation’s old universities with their fine, old buildings and would their use lessen the quality of learning?

Ms Marston seems unaware that even the old universities of Oxford and Cambridge have developed.

It is a fact that the old colleges of these two universities are not used to teach large numbers; the old buildings are used for tutorials where a maximum of, say, eight students are ‘taught’ at once.

The use of such buildings does now allow for 30 to be taught together as was the case in St Aidan’s School.

Those studying such subjects as the sciences do not undergo teaching in their colleges; they go to state-of-the-art laboratories.

Where larger numbers are taught, this takes place in modern lecture theatres, constructed for that purpose.

Time marches on, Ms Marston. Education has changed; different means of educating our children have been introduced.

The old building which was once Carlisle and County High School For Girls does not readily lend itself to renovation to include all modern facilities.

It still retains dangerous staircases and classrooms that are not suitable by today’s standards.

MRS J VINCENTBlackwell RoadCarlisle

But where is the evidence that any or all of these have fallen – if any have fallen – to local keepers?

The harriers I watch from their roosts go great distances.

A few, over the years, have probably (and two certainly) been captured live, probably for the falconry trade. I don’t see note taken of this.

Nor do I see on our North Pennine fells, during often daily watches, other watchers (conservationists or otherwise) except a few local folk. These include the former keeper I was watching a female ringtail hen harrier with at close range recently – neither he nor any of his former colleagues have ever molested hen harriers in my time here and this applies to other keepers I know further afield.

Yes, there are occasional exceptions, but nowadays gamekeepers protect birds of prey.

Yes, the unscrupulous would presumably destroy the transmitters or tags. However, I see very few tags on the many birds which, winter especially, fly over fells and elsewhere.

Perhaps the technology has its weaknesses?

COLIN SIMMSGarrigillAlston

The Cumberland News Readers have their say via our website:

There are various technologies that might be used, however there is a big problem with barrages – most of the bigger rivers that would provide useful energy are also sites of major importance for migratory fish and bird populations eg the Solway, Dee, Severn etc.

This is not a minor issue, these are internationally-designated sites.

Luckily there are some better technologies that do not require barrages across rivers and can actually be cheaper to construct.

It might be better if the various groups compared notes – there are some new ideas coming forward regarding the Severn – to try to overcome the environmental damage if tidal power was to be harnessed.

In addition to other in-stream technologies, there are also ideas such as offshore lagoons which get systems away from the rivers altogether and it might be better to consider those.

It seems to me that an overarching feasibility study is needed to first assess which technology would meet the various requirements in relation to rivers and coastlines before too much money is spent on individual sites and/or damage is done.

MATT WRIGHT

Mr Wright has explained in his posting exactly why this idea needs to be dropped once and for all time.

MR A G BRITTON

Fish and otters have none of these needs and we are far more important.

Let’s have a barrier, a very big one which would link the ferry ports directly to the M6 to make a real European Highway and not the appalling road system which winds it way via Dumfries. The anti-barrier brigade will be the “gentry”, concerned about their salmon fishing, or the turbines spoiling their views, whilst caring nothing for the general population.

Name and address supplied

Andrew Tinkler knows that I have been a supporter since day one.

Is it not commonsense to have all the lorries etc of Eddie Stobart out there?

People of Cumbria have to travel to either Newcastle or Manchester to even get to the Isle of Man by aeroplane.

Jobs are needed and I am sure most Cumbrians would appreciate an airport closer to the outlying places.

We know people living close to the airport will not be in favour, but they may even want to use the facilities – some day.

MISS G SLOANLamplugh

In the late 1980s, Carlisle City Council was forced to put refuse collection and street-cleaning out to competitive tender. The refuse contract was won by Biffa and the street-cleaning contract by UK Waste.

The standard of both services was greatly improved and a cost saving of 30 per cent achieved.

Perhaps the city council should test the water and put all services out to competitive tender.

MR J GRINDELLChertsey BankCarlisle

After a long day at work it really is lovely to drive through Brampton and see such a pretty sight, and they bring something cheerful back into our lives.

Brampton Parish Council needs to be congratulated on the sparkling display; the Moot Hall looks lovely and the whole scene is very Christmassy without being garish – well done for producing such an attractive seasonal display.

JANE TIMBERSLow Row

On stopping at the High Altar where the crib was placed (prior to the crib service), I was indicating various persons and things therein, when my spotlight alighted on Joseph.

‘Who is that?’ I asked. A small voice answered: ‘Joseph.’ ‘Who is he?’ I asked. ‘Jesus’ step-dad,’ the small voice replied.

Could this be true? Surely it is food for thought?

ALAN SHAWBeechwoodHallbankgate

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