Sir, Spring brings with it thoughts of renewed hope for the future. What shall we do with this motivation and opportunity to regenerate a fruitful direction for our city?
With the loss of local employment opportunities and the local wealth created formerly by the insurance and whisky industries, we require, more than ever, to nurture a sense of community.
The pursuit of economic success alone is not enough and must be combined with the above. A dormitory town may appear wealthy but it is devoid of communal culture.
After the blaring trumpets in achieving city status, the ensuing silence as to the future direction of our town has not been helpful or inspiring. Where is our community going? Not an easy question to answer. Some years (decades) ago, the city of Melbourne offered a multimillion-dollar prize to anyone who could think up an icon that would represent the city; just as Sydney has the bridge and Paris the Eiffel Tower.
No one ever claimed the prize. Melbourne never got its icon but it has prospered and become a very desirable community in which to live because the communal desire and ambition were there.
Melbourne, I believe, bought the fine old organ from our own City Hall. Could this be a sign?
Why not regenerate our own village/city hall into a combination of community space and market hall? It was built more than 100 years ago to provide just such a covered space; a realistic concept considering our weather.
The concept of an open, grey, bleak and, so often, wet and windy sterile space is regressive. Festival Square in Edinburgh and the Caird Hall Square in Dundee contribute nothing towards their respective cities and the notion of spending £4 million of the community’s wealth on another such space in Perth is abhorrent.
There are iconic market places in cities from Seattle to Saigon and they are all covered. I do not know if they have impressive business balance sheets but they contribute hugely to the wider local community and economy.
J. Young. Bellwood Park, Perth.
Zoning call too little, too late
Sir, I read with interest your article that said Alex Salmond intends to declare certain areas of Scotland as “turbine-free areas” (The Courier, April 4). I’m afraid this is a classic case of too little, too late.
I first called for zoning 10 years ago and the First Minister has only decided to do so now, after 44,000 letters of protest. Unfortunately, a massive vandalism of our countryside has already occurred with vast numbers of turbines already littering our landscape.
Other windfarm applications wending their way through the planning system also threaten our wild beauty around places like Loch Ness and Loch Lomond, next to the Cairngorms National Park, on the edge of the Galloway Dark Skies Park and the UNESCO Biosphere, in the Lammermuirs and throughout the Borders.
It is not up to Mr Salmond, sitting at his desk in Edinburgh, to designate those areas that should not be wrecked by industrial turbines; it is up to the local planners who have detailed knowledge of their areas.
Struan Stevenson, MEP. The European Parliament, Rue Wiertz, Brussels.
A Clydeside broadside
Sir, David Cameron has some nerve in coming to Scotland to scaremonger about 12,000 defence jobs. With about 9% of the UK population, our appropriate share of Government defence expenditure would give us more than 25,000 defence jobs.
He should reassure the folk in the communities around our nuclear arms collection at Faslane/Coulport that the UK Government will make sure they all get a fitting funeral should any madman start a nuclear war.
The people of Scotland deserve no less and are very noble indeed to accept becoming the world’s number one target by selflessly providing a nuclear shield for more important people. It is unimaginable that Scotland would ever consider attacking anyone else. Our nuclear weapons on the Clyde probably provide the only reason why anybody would want to attack Scotland.
Perhaps somebody could point out to David Cameron that the Norwegian navy, for instance, has 70 ships, all built in Norway, and the surest guarantee for Scotland to have an appropriate defence industry is an independent Scotland.
David McEwan Hill. 1 Tom Nan Ragh, Sandbank, Argyll.
Pie in the sky on potholes
Sir, Regarding “Councillor says billions needed for road repairs” (The Courier, April 3), I would like to ask Councillor Lothian where he gets his figure of £1.6 billion to bring the Scottish roads up to standard.
Is it a coincidence that it is the exact amount required to build the new Forth crossing? He has provided a pie-in-the-sky figure that any experienced roads engineer would be very reluctant to submit. It is a well-known fact he is opposed to the new crossing.
Again, (we get) the old excuse about the appalling condition of our roads being due to the weather. This is rubbish! If Fife Council took time to repair the potholes properly, they would not appear again in less than two weeks after they have been done.
Charles Henderson. 5 High Street, Auchtermuchty.
How about live and let live?
Sir, I noticed Alistair McBay of the NationalSecular Society pontificating on the matter of marriage and Christianity (Letters, April 3).
When is this self-important, pompous and dictatorial organisation going to stop portraying itself as the agent of light and reason in matters religious?
How much fairness and light can emanate from people whose avowed aim is to eradicate all trace of religion (but particularly Christianity) from public life.
Are they unfamiliar with the motto of all true liberals: “Live and let live”?
John R. Nicoll. 7c Queen Street, Broughty Ferry, Dundee.