Sir, – The rate and taxpayers of Dundee have had to put up with the blatant disregard for any civilised behaviour from the travelling community for far too long.
We have now all become accustomed to the debris and filth left behind each time these people vacate their illegal encampments but we see little action from Dundee City Council.
It really is time the authority got a grip of the situation and actually did something.
If the average man in the street carried on the way the Travellers do, he would be up in court in a very short time.
The truth of the matter is the authority does not have the guts to stand up to these people or their civil liberty supporters.
Councillors areobviously terrified of what their SNP masters will say in Holyrood.
Here are a couple of suggestions to assist councillors’ lengthy deliberations.
Speed up the eviction order procedure forillegal encampments on council/public land.
For private land, have the council works departments seal off all access points andcharge the owners for the work.
For debris and waste left behind on private or public land which is an obvious attraction for rats, mice, foxes and other vermin, recruit the environmental department to clean it all up and charge the Travellers where possible and the owners of the land where it is private.
It should not bedifficult to track down the Travellers from the number plates of their cars, vans and trucks. All it takes is the will andbackbone to actproactively.
Given the council’s track record on this topic, I do not expectany action soon butthose in the council should start thinking about the hard-pressed tax and ratepayers, that would be a welcome start, after all, the May elections are not too far off now.
Pete Toms. Liff Village, Dundee.
Sorry state of Perth city centre
Sir, – Everyone would agree that Perthshireis an attractive andbeautiful area but many residents feel Perth city centre has a sad look about it.
I would suggestcouncillors have a walk around the city centre, perhaps starting at Atholl Street and North William Street and ending up at the former Caledonian Road School.
St Paul’s Church is the biggest eyesore and I feel sorry for the small, interesting shops in the Old High Street who have had to put up with this building.
There is a problem with empty shops in Perth and an abundance of charity and betting shops. When I queried the latter, a councillor advised me the council had no control overbetting shops.
Will the theatre reopen? It did need new decor and seating but nothing as elaborate as is planned. People really love the character of Perth Theatre. Docouncillors listen toresidents’ opinions?
Lastly, the Thimblerow development. Does Perth need more coffee shops and anothercinema? That would be the death knell for the Playhouse.
I do hope that other residents who love Perthshire like I do, will raise their opinions about Perth city centre.
Patricia Mayland. 11 Sandeman Place, Luncarty.
Jim should visit grouse moor
Sir, – Jim Crumley (January 19) has written at length for many years about his hatred of grouse moors, gamekeepers, toffs and many other things.
It is sad he accepts, without scrutiny, RSPB’s recent 20-year wildlife crime report.
The only piece of evidence in it which was independently verified by all the agencies involved in tackling wildlife crime was official figures from 2013/2014.
This showed the number of crimes committed against wild animals, including raptors, fell to its lowest level inScotland in five years, although complacency is not an option.
The rest of theinformation was RSPB’s own, cleverly presented as having official endorsement.
As actual figures show, much has been done to change attitudes. Despite Mr Crumley’s personal view of “desertification”, grouse moors are helping fragile wildlife that is disappearing elsewhere.
In 2014, an Angus grouse moor hosted one of the most productive eagle nests in Scotland, fledging three chicks.
In 2015, rare eagletriplets were born on a north-east grouse moor.
Hen harrier chicks fledged on a Perthshire grouse moor in 2015.
Recently-established moorland groups are demonstrating, withphotographic evidence on social media, species richness on moors.
Mr Crumley should accept an invitation from gamekeepers in Angus and Perthshire to go and see management for himself.
Those who resistrevisiting their opinions are part of the problem not the solution.
No situation is ever perfect. Progress, however, should be welcomed not ridiculed.
Kenneth Stephen. Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association, Inveralmond Business Centre, Perth.
Contribution to conservation
Sir, – I hope we can reassure Jim Crumley (January 19) and give him a better night’s sleep.
His opinion column has focused on a historical report published by the RSPB which looks back two decades.
What that report chooses not to mention is the very steady decline over the last five years in all types of wildlife crime and particularly in the poisoning of birds of prey in all areas of Scotland.
RSPB seem to prefer to hark back to the old days but that is to seriously misrepresent what is happening now inCourier Country.
Look at the Angus Glens Moorland Group and you will see examples of grouse moors working to help birds of prey and conserving species of upland bird.
To achieve 81 birdspecies on an area of moorland is no mean feat. Jim will be verywelcome to come out on to a managed moor to see it for himself.
Tim Baynes. Director, Gift of Grouse, Scottish Moorland Group, Eskmills Business Park, Musselburgh.
Pointless destruction
Sir, – We have seen more than 5,000,000 trees felled to make room for windfarm development.
Hundreds of miles of tracks have beenbulldozed, our finest landscapes trashed by multinationals andgiant pylons nowscar our beautiful countryside.
Thousands of tonnes of concrete have been dumped on our fragile upland ecosystems.
Millions of birds and bats have been needlessly slaughtered.
Windfarms are now visible from 60% ofScotland. As a result, tourists are deterred by the sight of industrialised landscapes.
Millions of pounds have been extorted from the poorest bill payers with multinationals and landowners trousering much of it.
Yet during the coldest night so far, when we needed power most, and despite all of the above, the contribution to the National Grid of windfarms was precisely 0.25% of the total.
George Herraghty. Lothlorien, Lhanbryde.
Business profits from UK’s poor
Sir, – John Cameron’s defence of Iain Duncan Smith’s welfare reforms was another fairytale.
In January 2016 a National Audit Office report revealed that Iain Duncan Smith’s reign of terror over the lives of sick and disabled people is costing far more in administration fees than it will save the taxpayer.
The report reveals that the DWP is to pay out at least £1.6 billion over the next three years in administration fees to the corporations that now run their health and disability assessment schemes.
While administration fees alone will total more than £1.6bn by March 2018, the Government’s own figures indicate that its fit-to-work regime is unlikely to even save£1bn in reduceddisability benefitspayouts by May 2020.
The concept of spending more than half a billion pounds a year on administration to save less than one billion pounds over four years is something that could only ever make sense to a Tory.
The Tory willingness to squander hundreds of millions of pounds on hounding the sick and disabled should come as no surprise at all toanyone who has been paying attention to their economic incompetence and disregard for the rights of sick anddisabled people.
The reforms have nothing to do withhelping people and everything to do with diverting the welfare budget to corporate interests.
Alan Hinnrichs. 2 Gillespie Terrace, Dundee.