Today’s letters to The Courier.
Sir, – Councillor Frances Melville surely speaks for the vast majority of us in north-east Fife in condemning the proposal to replace the responsibility of the current seven area committees for planning decisions with one centralised planning committee (Courier, September 6).
A central committee would not only remove the vital local perspective from planning decisions, it would also lead to greater reliance on the opinions of planning officers since members of the central committee would have many more applications to review than do each of the present area committees.
In St Andrews, where we struggle against mighty odds to preserve the historic amenity of the town, we suffer at the hands of inexperienced planning officers with little knowledge of local circumstances, patchy supervision of their work and inadequate administrative systems.
The north-east Fife area committee performs an invaluable service in offering a counterbalance to officers’ opinions, sometimes overturning their recommendations.
Cllr Rowley is quoted as saying that area committees were never intended to be planning committees. He may be right, but we certainly need planning decisions taken at as local a level as is practicable.
At the council elections earlier this year, the ”democratic deficit” was the major issue with voters complaining that Fife was being run by officials rather than elected representatives. These centrist proposals by the new administration, if implemented, would only make matters worse.
Graham Wynd.Chairman,The St Andrews Preservation Trust.
The real under-lying cause is overpopulation
Sir, – Clark Cross gets it spectacularly wrong in his letter about climate change (September 7).
Humans emit at least 100 times as much CO2 as volcanoes and 50 million years ago atmospheric CO2 levels were several times their current levels, so palm trees in Antarctica are proof of what CO2 is capable of.
Mr Cross has scored an own goal.
It is alarming that other countries are burning more coal. And Germany’s move away from nuclear power is moronic, but is that an excuse for the rest of us to do nothing?
Eventually the world will be forced to move away from fossil fuels anyway. Those countries that have already done so will then have a head start.
Meanwhile, instead of repeating the discredited rubbish of climate change deniers, Mr Cross should concentrate his efforts on drawing attention to the underlying cause of the world’s environmental and resource problems overpopulation.
Dr Stephen Moreton.33 Marina Avenue,Great Sankey,Warrington.
‘No’ to lectures from Tories
Sir, – In reply to Tory councillor Dave Dempsey, who has criticised the centralisation of power in Edinburgh, I would like to offer how things are done in comparison in England.
It is a Tory minister who approves windfarms, despite any local concern.
It is a Tory minister who decides which councils will have their council tax capped, despite any local concern.
It is a Tory minister who effects the election of police commissioners, despite the grave concerns of police officers and local people.
It is a Tory minister who is pushing through huge cuts in fire services in England, despite the very vocal concerns expressed by local fire officers, local councils and local people.
Cllr Dave Dempsey complains that the SNP don’t believe in devolution or localism.
Well neither have the Tories who, given a sniff of power, would dismantle democracy in Scotland, slash and burn public services and return Scots to the political Dark Ages as punishment for having the temerity to challenge rule by London.
Here is the truth of the matter and a lesson Cllr Dave Dempsey should heed.
Scots will not be lectured to by Tories on how we run our own affairs in Scotland.
Malcolm McCandless.40 Muirfield Crescent,Dundee.
Really a simple question
Sir, – All the talk on what wording should be on the ballot paper for the referendum by politicians all hell-bent on loading the question in their own favour should stop.
Only one question needs to be answered and one word will do. Independence? Yes or No? Put a cross beside the one you want.
Simple and final with no confusion over what we are voting for. Is this too simple for our slippery politicians, none of whom seem to believe in democracy?
It is time we had more say. For too long the tail has wagged the Scots.
John George Phimister.63 St. Clair Street,Kirkcaldy.
Farmers to feed and heat us
Sir, – I must congratulate you on yet another excellent article on the farming page (Friday, September 7) about the excellent work being done by Professor Halpin and her colleagues.
As an anti-windfarm enthusiast, I crave news of such far-reaching research with all its potential.
At a stroke, Prof Halpin is doubling the social and financial value of our agricultural industry by making the feasibility of annually renewable fuel a probability, thereby reducing the need for slow-to-replace deforestation to feed biomass plants.
Our farmers will not only feed us, but also heat us.
A T Geddie.68 Carleton Avenue,Glenrothes.
Get involved: to have your say on these or any other topics, email your letter to letters@thecourier.co.uk or send to Letters Editor, The Courier, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL. Letters should be accompanied by an address and a daytime telephone number.