Ward objections ignored

I am not surprised, as the work started before we were asked if we had any objections and has continued over the weeks, even though they had lots of objections because of the parking.

If any of the people on Garden Street had asked permission to erect an extension to their house and gone ahead without waiting for permission, they would have been ordered to pull it down.

It has been reported that the hospital area is the worst for parking anywhere in Accrington. How are we supposed to cope with the extra cars? The council say cars will be coming and going. Is that supposed to be a consolation? I think it makes it worse.

Why do they need an office if they are not staying? I am afraid they are in for a shock when they try to park.

There are a lot of elderly people on Garden Street, some invalids. If you move your car to go shopping, you often find you have to carry your goods from another street.

The streets around Blackburn and Burnley hospitals are made into 'resident only' parking, but when we applied to be given the same consideration we were turned down.

So much for the caring, kind, thoughtful councillors who wish to be voted into office at the next election.

M AULD (Mrs), Garden Street, Accrington.

Footnote: Hyndburn Council spokeswoman Megan Nurse said: "The Communicare NHS Trust did not need permission for the internal work they were doing, only the change of use, so if the council had rejected the application it would have been at the Trust's own risk. If a resident began to build an extension without planning permission we would ask them to put in an application to rectify the position so the council could decide whether they could continue with it or not.

"At the moment, Garden Street does not meet our criteria for residents-only parking. There is room for cars to park but not always directly outside their homes. We will continue to monitor the situation and if it is deteriorating will look at it again.

"The council is concerned about the residents' worries," she added. Social Chapter would kill small businesses IWAS amused to read that the Labour Party is distributing 50,000 copies of a document called 'Growing and Prospering' to small businesses.

Mr Blair is, of course, trying to demonstrate that New Labour is no longer hostile to small businesses.

Yet the Labour Party is committed to the introduction of the European Social Chapter and the minimum wage. These policies alone would kill off thousands of small businesses.

Many small firms are wavering on the edge of closure with few employees and dwindling orders.

It is not difficult to envisage what would happen if they had to introduce paternity leave, statutory holiday entitlements and minimum rates of pay.

Mr Blair is being very disingenuous when he says that the Social Chapter would have no effect on small companies.

Thousands would be forced to close and those left would be forced to cut down on their staff.

D PEARSON, vice-chairman Blackburn Conservative Party, Rawstorne Street, Blackburn. Planting a money tree NOT content with being £39 million in debt, after having been in power for 10-plus years, and complaining about being capped, Hyndburn's Labour Council are now going to waste more money on planting or erecting two aluminium trees in Eastgate.

In view of the way they have run up these huge debts, is this a last desperate attempt to find a tree which actually does sprout money? Perhaps these two are to deter dog lovers, or would-be young Tarzans?

Yet again they are treating the public of Hyndburn with contempt, while making our town a laughing stock.

Their debts total £39 million, which represents approximately £500 for every voter in Hyndburn. When they go around bleating that it is time for a change, shouldn't that also mean them?

GRANVILLE BROADHURST, Sharples Street, Accrington. Keep trendy out of church IVERY much disagree with your editorial opinion (LET, February 10) condemning the criticisms of Lord Runcie concerning 'rave in the nave.' It was an opinion more appropriate to the John Blunt column, stimulating controversy.

Once again tradition is challenged by the trendy. The old established forms of religious worship of the C of E and RC church have survived and satisfied many generations for centuries and are still held with the same fond regard.

The hand-clapping and evangelical wailing hype-type of worship is inappropriate on a gothic stage, originating from an alien culture where jazz bands and party celebration are tradition for funeral service.

The West Europeans still have high regard for traditional services in church or chapel, the vestments and its appropriate organ music.

Pandering to kids is never a solution, they know nothing and must be led by example and discipline, the decline of which is the cause of so many other disorders and apathy. The Parochial Hall is the appropriate place for social celebration, singing and dancing etc.

J A MARSDEN, Scarborough Road, Blackburn.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.