Crosby Herald readers’ letters, 22/01/09

Jan 22 2009 by Our Correspondent, Crosby Herald

AS A congregation, St Luke's Church, together with the other members of Churches Together in Great Crosby (CTIGC), are very concerned about what has been happening in Crosby Village and our own recent community reflection underlines this.

We have tried to express our concerns in a number of ways: we have been thinking about and praying in our services for those whose lives are affected when businesses close and they are made redundant.

We also pray for guidance for all those who have to make decisions in this time of 'credit crunch'.ŠWe have provided space for the lorries and vans that came for the continental markets and our hall is used by countless community groups and children and youth organisations. Š

We have expressed our concerns along with CTIGC over the threat to free parking in the village.

Personally I have attended the Crosby Area committee to ask what Sefton Council can do about the village's regeneration.

While I would echo Councillor Martyn Barber's call for private investment in Crosby village (Crosby Herald, January 15), it would also seem to me essential that as aŠ communityŠ we need to think seriously about what exactly we would like to see.

ŠWe will only see new businesses when they are confident that the community want to have them here and would use them rather than go elsewhere. There will also need to be a 'mix of use' with community facilities, residential accommodation and services.

As a church in the heart of Crosby we would like to think we have Crosby in our heart and to that end we are embarking on our own re-building and re-ordering plans so that we might continue to serve the community as we have been doing for 156 years already. Š

In this time of economic recession, this is a sign of hope and a statement of our faith that ŠCrosby has a future and now is the time for us all to come together and discover what that is.

REV CANON PETE SPIERS,

St Luke's Church, Great Crosby

Action required

I WOULD like to respond and support the excellent view and observations detailed by Cllr Martyn Barber in his letter published in last week’s Crosby Herald.

As an independent trader in Crosby village for the past 16 years, I am able to report that there is not a day goes by without my customers questioning the sad demise and the poor state of the village.

The basic infrastructure of the village has continued to decline over recent years with poor signage, dreadful lighting and a dirty, broken and uneven paving area that is never cleaned. This does not help to project a pleasant and secure place for families to shop and drink.

With the lack of progress seen on the derelict site and the recent closure of the Village pub together with the future of the Somerfield store in doubt, it is imperative that the council and/or the planning department release information as to how they perceive the future of Crosby village.

It is my view that the people of Crosby and surrounding area wish to shop and eat locally and it is a sad state of affairs that in 2009 there is not a single restaurant in the central village.

There is no encouragement or incentive for businesses to start up in Crosby, and, as Cllr Barber has pointed out, the quality of buildings both for office and retail is extremely poor. However, our commercial rates continue to rise.

As I understand it Sainsbury’s now own the majority of the buildings in the village and it is vital for the council to negotiate a rebuild of the area that preserves the resident traders and encourages new investment and variety.

Parking has always been an issue for shoppers and I still cannot understand why parking cannot be changed to a ‘pay as you leave system’. This would at least encourage visitors to wander around the village without having to rush back to their car to prevent yet another parking fine.

There are many good points in and around Crosby and as a local trader I would askŠ the Council and our local MP to get involved and sort this mess out, leading from the front, and giving the people Crosby a village to be proud of!

PAUL WOODS,

Encore

A lack of pride

FORGIVE me but I find it hard to comprehend why some dog owners have such a lack of pride for themselves or their animal.

Yes, I imagine it can be embarrassing when the dog fouls when on ‘walkies’.

But surely the swift clean-up by placement of bag on hand, grab of gruesome deposit, folding over of bag top and knotting tightly is not beyond the ability of most owners. And kindly take the said bag home for your dustbin, not leave it on our pavements or gutter, or half stuffed down a drain, in a hedge or over it.

I hope the young man I had an exchange with a while back regarding such matters has not reverted to slovenly habits.

Elmwood Avenue, Crosby, and those surrounding, are lately a minefield of dog deposit.

Not nice at all, and spare a thought for those with poor sight who are ill disposed to dodge them.

Please clean up after your dog, and should you really not love or care enough for it, give the animal to someone who will.

I am sorely tempted to ask God to distract the miscreant dog walker on route, thus causing them to walk on something they could have removed on a previous walkies.

JUDITH BRITTON,

Address supplied

Yet more tax

LOCAL pubs in Crosby are a vital part of our social fabric and community life.

Whilst big pub chains may be making money out of Labour’s new drinking laws, small everyday pubs are suffering from the combined onslaught of higher beer taxes, a weakening economy, supermarkets selling alcohol below cost price and the smoking ban.

Whatever people’s views on the smoking ban, it has had a major impact on many pubs.

The Government’s own tax inspectors have now admitted that pubs may be eligible for refunds on their business rates, but Crosby's pub owners are being intentionally kept in the dark about this U-turn.

This is yet another tax cover-up from the same inspectors who have conspired to hide council tax errors.

Ministers are only interested in changing the tax system when it raises extra money for Gordon Brown’s coffers.

Thanks to Whitehall secrecy and this stealth pub tax, local firms are going to the wall and everyday pub-goers are being hit in the wallet.

CLLR MARTYN BARBER,

Manor Ward

‘Wiseman’ plea

IF ANY of your readers know a person called “Wiseman”, it is almost certain that if they are Lancashire or Yorkshire people, their family originated in Kettlewell.

Some 150 years ago, a third of the village were related to the Wiseman ‘clan’.

In the 1850s, the lead miners of Kettlewell began to move out to Burnley and Bradford seeking jobs in the mills.

Which explains why we are so scattered these days.

In 2007, we held a “Wiseman Weekend” for all those of the family who can trace their roots back to Kettlewell.

No less than 150 people came along, and we walked, talked and ate together.

We pottered around the village and held a service in the village church where so many of our ancestors had been baptised, married and buried.

We had visitors from as far away as South Africa, Canada, and New Zealand, and as local as Vera Wiseman, the only member of the family still living in Kettlewell.

Because the weekend was such a success (and the villagers enjoyed it too!), we are repeating the exercise this July.

If you are a member of the Wiseman family, or if you have distant relatives of the family, we invite you to come along and join the fun.

Please contact me if you require further details of the “Wiseman Weekend” on davidwiseman1@sky.com

DAVID WISEMAN,

The Ginnel, Skipton

Help our cause

I AM writing to ask your readers to support leading health charity Diabetes UK this year as it marks its 75th anniversary.

There are around 300,000 people with diabetes in the North West and a further 65,000 who have Type 2 diabetes but do not know it. Our mission is to improve the lives of people with the condition and work towards a future without diabetes.

In our 75th year we will be remembering the achievements of all our committed supporters: volunteers, members and donors as well as the healthcare professionals, campaigners and Diabetes UK staff who are committed to helping people with diabetes and their families.

Diabetes is a serious condition that can lead to serious complications including heart disease, blindness and amputation. Diabetes UK is aiming to raise over £7.5 million this year to fund vital research.

I would urge your readers to support the charity either by making a donation or becoming a volunteer. For more information please visit www.diabetes.org.uk/75years

JULIE BYRON & HELEN PATTIE,

Diabetes UK North West regional managers