THIS weeks letters to the editor.

‘I was astonished to find a thriving, bustling shopping area.’

THERE is a defeatist tendency, to which I admit I have at times adhered, which sees the decline of the Kingfisher Centre as attributable to irresistible socio-economic forces.

This view accepts it has deteriorated but ascribes this to changes in people’s habits, online shopping, especially Amazon, the post-Covid world and such like.

I recently went to Weoley Castle Square expecting it to be a shadow of what it was 40 years ago.

I was astonished to find a thriving, bustling shopping area.

Of 25 or more retail outlets, all but a couple were open.

In addition, some days there is an open- air market on the grass in the middle of the Square (which is actually circular – I never did get that).

It was not all charity or betting shops either, yes there were a couple of each, but for the most part it was active retail outlets, even a butchers and a greengrocers.

Why it is so successful I don’t know. Perhaps they have access to metropolitan revenue streams denied Redditch.

Whatever it is, RBC and the Kingfisher management team should be doing all they can to find out what Weoley Castle are doing right we in Redditch are getting so wrong.

K Wass

‘UK behind on Climate change prevention’

CAN I please correct Mrs Maclean’s take on how well the UK Is doing in preventing climate change and our children’s destruction.

Our government committed to zero carbon by 2050, we also committed to zero coal and gas but our government are issuing new licences for drilling, so should we believe their commitment promises on zero by 2050?

Oh, and incidentally, nuclear is not green.

Apart from the carbon emissions during construction, there are the impacts of buried nuclear waste and further emissions during decommissioning after around 30 years when the parts of the radioactive building are dismantled to poison the country where they are then buried.

This is 14.2 per cent of our so-called green energy.

Gas – the carbon demon?

We have reduced our percentage simply because our overall fuel use has decreased because we cannot afford the heating, lighting and cooking anymore.

Amazing how, with only 40 per cent of our fuel use being gas, the Ukrainian war has impacted on our prices so much.

Oh, I forgot to mention the enormous profits our government has allowed the fuel giants to make from a doubled standing charge that has no relevance to fuel costs. Does it Mrs Maclean?

Margot Bish,

Abbeydale

‘Is any trade deal acceptable at any price?’

MRS Hanan Khashoggi says she lives in fear, afraid she could ‘be assassinated at any time’, following the brutal killing of her husband.

The Prime Minister has stated that the country’s future energy supply cannot be determined by the actions of dictators.

Redditch’s MP states that the policies of Labour and Just Stop Oil would leave us reliant on tyrants and foreign imports.

When the Prime Minister hosts Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman does the MP believe the PM will have Mrs Khashoggi’s words in his mind?

Does the MP believe the United States Intelligence Report which identified the Crown Prince ordering the killing of Mr Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate, Istanbul – 2.10.18 or simply accepts his denial of any involvement?

“Saudi Arabia’s absolute monarchy restricts almost all political rights and civil liberties. The regime relies on pervasive surveillance, the criminalisation of dissent….women and religious minorities face extensive discrimination in law and in practice”.

Freedom House: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report.

Is any trade deal acceptable at any price? Mr Khashoggi paid the ultimate price just for expressing his views.

The UK has continued relations with Saudi Arabia for decades, mostly for oil, do we just turn the page as we fill up our vehicles and heat our buildings?

Alan Godwin

‘Look to the possibilities it could bring’

I HAD a chuckle when I read J Powell’s letter in last week’s Standard.

It seems anyone who agrees with the plan to demolish the library building has to be (council leader) Matt Dormer in disguise!

However, it’s fairly obvious local authorities up and down the country have no money, and therefore it makes sense for them to rationalise their facilities, as Redditch is trying to do.

Creating a ‘one-stop shop’ in the town hall will benefit far more people, including book readers.

It’s called change, and it’s happening all the time.

So why not just accept that a decision has been made, it’s going to happen and instead of grumbling about it, look to the possibilities it could bring.

I Jones

Greenlands

‘Ticket office closure reminder’

BARRUP (Bromsgrove and Redditch Rail User Partnership) wishes to remind everyone who wants to keep our railway station ticket offices open that they have now until Friday, September 1, to contact transportfocus.org.uk and Redditch MP Rachel Maclean with their reasons for so doing.

The closure of the offices makes the assumption that everyone who wishes to travel by train has a digital device, such as a computer or smartphone, and is able to use them to book tickets for, what in many instances, may be journeys involving more than one train from more than one station and for which they may need advice.

This is simply not true and the proposals by the train operators, however they are dressed up, are purely cost-cutting measures which will reduce the level of service for passengers and deter them from travelling by train, with the consequent economic, environmental and social costs.

Nick Taylor

BARRUP