Letters
Howard Keal
Malton and Thirsk Lib Dem PPC
19 St Nicholas Street
Norton
Y017 9AQ
3 April 2009
Letters
Gazette and Herald
It’s great that swimming is now free for Ryedale’s Over 60s – and such a pity the Conservatives sank the opportunity to do the same for the under-16s.
The offer for both age groups was backed by Government money and has been supported in each case by Liberal Democrats.
Sadly the Conservative majority on Ryedale District Council overwhelmingly voted against offering the boost to under-16s.
That burned £60,000 of free Government money. What’s more, the grant offer to the council has been renewed in the last few days and the cut off time extended.
A request to look again at this particular gift horse has been refused – another waste of an opportunity to help hard-pressed families and young people.
It was claimed that the scheme for young people would cost more than the grant available.
We took that risk on cost – rightly – in supporting the scheme for the Over 60s and should have done exactly the same for under-16s.
It is extraordinary that the Conservatives agreed with the Lib Dems on backing one half of the scheme and would not go with us on the other.
The free swimming for the over-60s is part of the Change-4 Life Campaign encouraging people be more active and healthy.
It’s designed to ensure a lasting legacy for the London Olympics and Paralympic Games in 2012.
There would be no better legacy than investing in the health of our young people as well as our over 60s.
Howard Keal
Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate
Malton and Thirsk
19 St Nicholas Street
Norton
Malton
Y017 9AQ
16 February 2009
Tel. (01653) 694546
howard.keal@btinternet.com
Mr Adam Crozier
Chief Executive
Royal Mail
148 Old Street
London
EC1V 9HQ
Dear Mr Crozier
Relocation post box, Norton-on-Derwent
I write to express my concern at the scandalous disregard for customer service being shown by the Royal Mail in the small North Yorkshire Town of Norton.
Over several months I have been requesting the return of a post box, which was lost with the closure of the Post Office in our main street.
Shops, businesses and residents all value the convenient location of the original box and have called for it to be restored, as has the town council.
One elderly man has even had to resort to taking a taxi when he needs to send a letter as the next nearest box is too far for him to walk.
We have been told by the Area Collections and Network Manager that on paper, provision is adequate – in practice this is not the case at all.
There is no post box in the main shopping street and the nearest one is a stiff walk, which is not convenient for shoppers, businesses or elderly residents.
The requests I have made for a meeting on site to demonstrate the time it takes to go to the next nearest box have been ignored.
Sites are available in Church Street and Commercial Street, Norton where a post box could be safely located.
With all that we have lost – the Post Office and with it the only ATM in the town – the Royal Mail has the opportunity salvage at least one important strand of the service.
I ask you to take action to bring back our post box and with it restore the currently battered reputation of the Royal Mail with shoppers, business people and residents.
It is surely not too much to ask.
Kind regards
Howard Keal
Lib Dem Malton and Thirsk
ProspectiveParliamentary Candidate
Norton
YO17 9AQ
18 January 2009
Letters to the Editor
Gazette and Herald
Dear Editor
Sounding the alarm over the threat to acres of farmland featured in the Gazette (Jan 14) is just half the story.
It wholly overlooks the need to tie up the issue of land management with helping to protect homes from flooding.
Slowing the speed of run off from the land – by creating water meadows and measures such as tree planting – does make sense.
The proposals have been put forward by the Environment Agency to at least go some way to help lower flood risk in our towns and villages.
What must be added to the equation is proper compensation to farmers for crop damage or loss of productive land.
And we need the agency to at last protect people by providing defences, or upland storage as proposed by Ryedale Flood Research Group.
More money has to be channelled towards adequate protection as well as removing debris and silt from watercourses.
Once the water hits our main rivers it must be free to flow – current neglect all over the system is increasing flood risk.
Countryside watchdog the CPRE is urging all groups to form a partnership to sort out flood management in Ryedale.
It’s a call that offers a ray of hope that key organisations pulling in opposite directions may finally pull together to fight flooding.
At the same time, the idea in last week’s report that the Government is being a “little bit naughty” hardly covers the depth of its disgrace.
Vastly more investment is required to restore adequate maintenance and in measures to safeguard communities.
We’ve seen the Government bail out the banks - it should spend now so we no longer have to bail out our homes.
.
How could it
happen here?
19 January 2009
A campaigner in Ryedale today tore into the BNP after the race-hate group leafleted parts of his home town.
Outraged Howard Keal, Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Malton and Thirsk, reacted with “anger and sadness.”
“Up to now I’ve always regarded Ryedale as a safe haven out of reach of the racist British National Party.
“It’s a huge regret to find that it has broken cover and is openly attempting to spread its mix of hate, myths and lies.
“Some of the claims seem plausible at first but it’s just a hook to drag people in before they follow up with the heavy racism,” said Howard.
“This is a party whose founder described Hitler’s Mein Kampf as his Bible and with a host of senior members tainted by violence.
“Two supporters confronted in Norton were asked if they were distributing Nazi literature - their answer was ‘Yes, we are.’”
Howard, Lib Dem leader on Ryedale District Council, attacked the party for peddaling myths over issues such as housing,
“It makes claims about immigration and housing when the reality is that virtually all migrants share private rented accommodation.
“The BNP leaflet also picks up on jobs when the true picture is that economic migrants are going home in droves.
“Anyone who enjoys a meal out, stays in a hotel or goes to hospital would soon suffer if the BNP had its way.
“Worse still, everything from football to farm fields would be poorer – we’d be without Ronaldo and crops would be left to rot.
“We also have millions of Britons working abroad who would all be forced to return here if other countries adoped the same racist madness.”
Howard has vivid memories of the kindness of people years ago when he and his wife Di back packed around
“It was a constant embarrassment how well we were looked after knowing how badly immigrants were treated at the time in our country.
“Just as a light finally goes on in
“I hope people will refuse to be taken in and show racism the door. This has been a safe haven from the extemists – let’s keep it that way.”