24
NEWS
Letters
Wednesday April 19 | 2017
And another thing… This is the page where you, the reader, have your chance to express your views or comments on what’s going on in our part of the world. We like to hear from you. You can email us at newsdesk@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk or newsdesk@timesoftonbridge.co.uk or write to the Editor at 16 Lonsdale Gardens, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 1NU
In Pembury we need public transport Rules on council spending mean that Kent County Council [KCC] is forced to slash budgets on all its essential services, including bus subsidies. Arriva have axed the 6A service serving Pembury. But buses are a vital lifeline to nearly a fifth of Pembury people who do not drive and wish to visit the hospital, shop, see family and friends, or go to or seek work – activities that car owners can accomplish at any time. Without village bus services vulnerable people face loneliness and social isolation. Instead of bickering, councillors should encourage bus usage. This would improve the viability of routes such as the 6A. I am an independent candidate for the KCC election in Tunbridge Wells East. I have never seen a single KCC or Tunbridge Wells borough councillor on a Pembury bus. Suspecting that a photo shot with a forlorn, bedraggled-looking figure at a bus stop will soon be circulated, I thought I would get in first. This is not cynical opportunism as I do regularly use the bus, despite being a car owner. Terry Cload, Pembury
BUS STOPPED Mr Cload by his abandoned Pembury route
New hotel will hurt all the others
If football goes, what happens to cricket?
The decision by the council to grant planning permission to Premier Inn is yet another costly mistake by this council. It has been said by the council that it will boost tourism, but sadly it will only have a detrimental effect to other hotels and B&Bs. There is no credible argument for another hotel within Tunbridge Wells, and the only people potentially set to gain from this are the council. Quite clearly they looked at the planning application and started to rub their hands with glee at the money that they supposedly will gain, but it will only be at a cost. Unfortunately that cost will be to hotels and B&Bs in the local area who will lose business because of this poor judgement. The council quite clearly aren’t looking out for the interests of local businesses yet again. Naz Mian UKIP Tunbridge Wells Chairman
I was saddened to read about the demise of the Tonbridge & District Football League after more than 100 years. I fear for the future of many grass roots sports. As we enter the cricket season, it is becoming increasingly difficult to field teams for friendly fixtures, which have been a staple of Sunday cricket for decades. People simply don’t have the time to commit to standing in a field for five hours – especially if there isn’t a result at the end. More and more clubs are contemplating playing Twenty20 cricket because the three-hour duration is so much more acceptable in a family context. At least there is this fallback, which is like the old 25-over games for kids. And yet when I was growing up, it was quite common for adult cricketers to play both days at the weekend – and spend Saturday night talking about it in the pub. It’s understandable, I think, that kids don’t want to devote their precious time to it – they would much rather stare at their phones. Perhaps they are looking up the latest county scores. The equipment for cricket is also absurdly expensive – a bat costs £300 these days – and even if they have the money, parents don’t want to sit on the boundary all day. Tennis clubs are elitist, swimming requires time commitments at weird hours of the day… But football? Surely children and young men can still get out and run around for an hour and a half? John Bottomley Via email
Should towns only have one team?
Our town is not for the chosen few
Passive CCTV leaves victims helpless
I couldn’t agree more with the two gentlemen you featured on your front page last week. They, quite rightly, are not scared of criticising the council’s plans to build a big, shiny new ‘civic complex’ which will not only cost a fortune but also cause untold upheaval to a lovely green space in Tunbridge Wells – not to mention plenty of havoc to the surrounding businesses. Mr Weatherseed and Mr Gedge’s Save Our Park campaign focuses on the fact that the council are poised to plough millions and millions into a new cultural building we really don’t need in this town, when a fraction of the money could easily improve the building they already have. It’s right smack in the centre of town, and also happens to come with a beautiful – and, incidentally, newly refurbished – 1,000-seater theatre! What are they thinking? Surely our money would be far better spent on boosting grants for those who need it, whether that’s small charities or the parts of our society who need support and advice when it comes to securing a job or living space. To simply splurge a ridiculous amount on more bricks and mortar for a chosen privileged few to enjoy seems ludicrous to me. The fact that our grandchildren will be left to pick up the eventual bill is frankly unpalatable. I wish the Save Our Park campaign every success. I will certainly be signing their petition. Carrie Davidson, Via email
The fact the council are willing to even consider ‘passive’ monitoring of CCTV just shows how out of touch they are. What they are proposing is tantamount to saying it is open season for every drunken lout on a Friday or Saturday night, picking a fight, engaging in vandalism, or generally causing a disturbance. It is all well and good saying that CCTV will still catch them in the act and therefore they can still be punished. But this is on the assumption that the perpetrators are recognisable enough to be tracked, or that someone will come forward with a complaint so the police even know to review the footage. There will no longer be the capacity to immediately respond to problems as and when they occur, meaning it may be too late to intervene in particularly vicious attacks before serious harm is incurred by the victim. This is England, and we all know that when people get boozed up – particularly young men but sometimes young women too – there is a pack mentality that can lead to some very nasty episodes, as was the case with the unfortunate Kurdish refugee [in Croydon] a few weeks back. If the council does not step back from this folly, they should be held accountable if the end result is a more lawless town. Mark Holland, Via email
Reading your comment piece about the decline of the Tonbridge & District Football League last week, I had no idea that the plight of local teams was so serious. But it is interesting that some Tonbridge teams are joining the Sevenoaks league, as I have seen clubs in this area disband as well. Shoreham village used to have a really good team made up almost entirely of local players. I can remember many a battle with them when they had players with nicknames like Weasel, Biscuit and Merv the Swerve. But they folded quite a few years ago and some of the pitch was given over to the primary school, which backs on to it. This means that the village now has no football pitch, so there is no chance of the team ever being revived. I believe it is the same in Farningham. I played on the pitch behind the Oliver Crescent estate and the changing rooms were in the dank basement of the Working Men’s Club. The pitch is still there but the village no longer has a team. As someone who spent almost my entire youth kicking a ball about either in organised leagues, in the playground, or down the local park when anybody could join in, I find this all a bit sad. Maybe we should adopt the approach taken in France and Belgium. A town like Sevenoaks would just have one football club with lots of different teams at junior and senior level. It would also cater for surrounding villages so everyone supports the local team, either through playing or spectating. In turn, this would help generate income for just one big club. No wonder we can’t produce a decent England team if no one is playing at grass roots level. Francis Snow Sevenoaks
Let’s talk potholes, not Brexit As the Kent County Council elections approach, I have been doing my civic duty and researching the candidates and talking with some of them as they knock on my door. I find the crowbarring of national partisan issues into small local elections bizarre and frustrating. What has your opinion of Brexit got to do with the massive pothole down my road? I try and speak to as many of the candidates in person as possible because, in all honesty, I feel that individual competence is far more important than party allegiance. This is why, in the past, I have held my nose and voted Tory, because in those instances they had decades of experience within finance and local government. However, I would never vote for a UKIP candidate – there is only so low you can stoop, and the purple rosette brigade are certainly disqualified from the competence criteria I mentioned above. Stanley Scrimpton Via email Calverley is still away touring vineyards
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