Sir, – I am a regular church-goer to St Paul’s Cathedral in the city centre and it seems, with help from Dundee City Council (DCC), our Christian faith will become further marginalised.
Your readers already know of DCC’s intention to impose Sunday parking charges, initially only in the city’s multi-storey car parks, but later, I have it on good authority, it will cover all city centre parking.
The recent proposal is for parking restrictions to apply 8am-8pm, seven days a week, instead of the current six.
Prices will increase 20p to £2.30 from April 1, with parking from two to four hours rising 40p, to £4, with the justification that Sundays are becoming like any other day.
I disagree.
For many who travel to St Paul’s on Sundays, buses are simply not viable because there are so few to get them to Sunday services for a 10.30am start.
DCC also argues Christian churches have an unfair advantage over Dundee’s Muslim community, who worship on Fridays, although I would argue Christians and Muslims are not in competition to attract worshippers, and religion is not a product or commodity, it is a belief. I would suggest to DCC that what all Dundee’s churches – and I include the mosque in this – have in common is that, for decades, they have served Dundee’s communities in practical ways – food banks, soup kitchens, youth groups etc. They have done more good work for their communities than DCC ever did.
It is difficult enough to sustain city centre churches without DCC putting further barriers in their way.
Councils in other towns have contributed, through parking charges and pedestrianisation of streets, to the closure of churches. In addition, one only has to look at the increasing number of empty shops in the city centre to see incentives to bring people in are urgently required.
When DCC starts charging parking fees before 1pm Sunday, church attendance will dwindle. In addition, contributions “in plate” will dwindle, further affecting the future of the church.
It wouldn’t surprise me if DCC ends up making more money out of city centre church-goers than churches themselves will recieve from worshippers.
Kenneth Brannan.
42 Greenlee Drive,
Lochee.
Muslim people welcome here
Sir, – It was with some degree of horror that I read of the current threats against Muslims on social media, and in particular the concerns felt by Muslims in Dundee.
As a Christian minister I would like to make it clear that Muslims are warmly welcome in this city, and for anyone to target any group is quite simply wrong.
Freedom of religion is a fundamental value of our Christian culture – and that includes the right of Muslims to worship and live in this community.
While there are many aspects of Islam that I do not agree with (and I would always want to share Christ with Muslim people, as I do with anyone else), that does not mean we should be any less welcoming to Muslims. We can discuss our differences – it really does not help to demonise one particular group of people. I would like to reassure Muslims in Dundee that we Christians welcome them, and condemn the attacks and threats upon them in social media.
David Robertson.
St Peter’s Free Church,
4 St Peter Street,
Dundee.
They’re schools, not child care
Sir, – I refer to your correspondent Ian Brooks of Cupar, (“Schools’ part-time attitude”, The Courier, March 27), and his comments regarding Fife school’s temporary closures.
I am a parent, albeit a now rather senior one, and as such have some sympathy with the problems of balancing employment and child supervision.
However, as a retired teacher I am somewhat disappointed that he failed to address learning and teaching in his argument. His prime concern appears to be supervision.
Regrettably, the closures in Fife were unavoidable, but surely the raison d’etre of our schools is education, with child care being the obligation of parents and guardians.
James Millar.
221 Stenhouse Street,
Cowdenbeath.
Tinkering with our tax bands
Sir, – Are we prepared to have our houses and flats revalued to help bring about a reform of local taxation?
Greens’ spokesman Andy Wightman may be right when he says most of us are paying the wrong amount in council tax (“Greens to force vote to abolish council tax”, The Courier, March 27).
It is one thing to highlight that, but another to ask the public to accept the political and economic upheaval of a revaluation.
It is not surprising most of us have forgotten the rate rises in the 1980s (that helped bring about the unworkable “poll tax”) or the changes to values that came along with the introduction (at breakneck speed) of the council tax in the early 1990s. The plain fact is these valuations are hopelessly out of date.
Who would be the winners and losers if they were, in fact, changed?
Therein lies the dilemma for the Scottish Government.
It may want to go along with the Greens’ idea of a residential property tax. If it does it will almost certainly have to accept revaluation.
With all that is going on with the Brexit negotiations and conjecture about a second independence referendum I doubt whether Holyrood will want to prompt the turmoil.
The Scottish Government wasn’t able to convince either parliament or business some years ago that a local income tax was workable.
I think we are left with the least worst alternative, tinkering again with the existing council tax bands.
Nobody should be surprised if that is what the SNP and the Greens finally agree on when the budget is set next year.
Bob Taylor.
24 Shiel Court,
Glenrothes.
Unlikely the Russians did it
Sir, – Extra-judicial attacks by Western powers on foreign-based enemies are not unknown, and the US routinely uses drones to assassinate those it deems security threats.
Israel uses Mossad hit-men, French agents blew up the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior, and Britain’s SAS famously assassinated IRA bombers in Gibraltar.
So it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Russian agents attacked former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia – just somewhat unlikely.
Vladimir Putin was in power when Skripal was arrested, jailed and included in a spy swop – why would he put his relations with the West in jeopardy by killing him now?
Novichok was developed in the former USSR but the formula is well known and could have been produced by any reasonably competent terrorist lab.
In fact Porton Down, just a few miles down the road from Salisbury, would have developed its own versions of Novichok if for no other reason than to search for antidotes.
European leaders who feel they must support Mrs May use words such as “likely” and “plausible” as there’s no evidence that Russia was behind the attack.
She has finally asked the OPCW to investigate and hopefully it will turn up the proof which, in the mad rush to blame the West’s favourite villain, was sorely lacking.
Rev Dr John Cameron.
10 Howard Place,
St Andrews.
Cats should be licensed
Sir, – I agree with Bob Duncan regarding controlling cats which kill birds (Letters, March 27). There are eight million cats in the UK. They should be licensed and part of the fee could be given to bird charities.
Another solution would be the compulsory wearing of a bell round the cat’s neck to warn the birds.
My suggestion would be a ship or church bell.
Clark Cross.
138 Springfield Road,
Linlithgow.
