REGARDING e-scooters Shared Space’s concerns are that many riders are using them, not in accordance with the rules and therefore the insurance will not be valid.
People are using them on the pavement, riding double and possibly under the legal age required to use them.
We are concerned the insurance becomes invalid if not used in accordance with their agreement. So what happens when something goes wrong where does that leave:
The person who is injured by a rider not using it properly
The person who is injured by a rider who is using it without signing it in first or using someone else’s details
The person who is trips over an e-scooter if not parked properly?
The person who is injured if they trip over a rentable e-scooter that has been moved or knocked over by a member of the general public and not the last rider?
Where does this leave Redditch Borough Council if the insurance is not comprehensive – will the Council have legal action taken against if them if the BIRD insurance does not cover them?
Where does this leave blind, partially sighted, elderly and vulnerable pedestrians who may trip over rentable e-scooters that have been moved or knocked over by someone else other than the last person who left it.
Also what happens if the person does not park it in a safe place to start with and someone gets injured?
We are also very concerned if someone is hit by an e-scooter rider not adhering to the rules set out by the operators in their terms and conditions.
S Gayton
REGARDING Mr Blaydon’s letter about the railways, and the council’s dreams of a second platform at Redditch station, I mean, that’s just pie in the sky.
It will never happen, at least not in our lifetimes.
It would cost a fortune and who’s going to pay for it? The railways are too busy wanting to dig tunnels under the Irish Sea, the government just wants to build roads and the council hasn’t got a penny to its name.
According to last week’s Standard the county council meanwhile is going to be £76million in debt by 2024.
It’s all pie in the sky, and why knock down a perfectly good library I don’t know, at least it’s not an eyesore like the town hall.
If they’re desperate for their square why not use the council car park and have the market running between the two.
Cheaper as well.
C Moore, Greenlands
LOCKDOWN 3 – The communities of the east of the town have been helped through the latest lockdown a group, of which I am part, called REST – Redditch East Stronger Together – which bizarrely is one thing they do not do.
I watch in awe as my friends and colleagues give up their time and energy to help support the vulnerable in our local areas.
So, a shout out and thanks to Shannon, Alex, Robin, Liz, Jen, Shelley, Karen, Mike, Sharron, Rachel, Neal, Sue, Fay and many more volunteers who in my opinion have gone above and beyond.
Thank you for what you do and well done to you all.
I Johnson,
Vice-Chair, Church Hill Big Local
IN reply to I Willcock’s letter regarding Redditch Borough Council’s evasive and dismissive responses to the new proposed cemetery. Unfortunately Mr. Willcock’s the Council are so driven by their Strategic Allocation of houses and anything else objections fall on deaf ears.
In December 2017 a resident and their family chopped down tree preservation order trees at the rear of a house.
What has the council done since then – absolutely nothing.
No fines, no replanting, all because the perpetrators are developers.
So don’t think RBC will do the right thing for residents in your area because they don’t care and cannot even enforce their own rules when the law is broken.
As you say there is indeed something not right at the Council.
M Cottam, Webheath
I AM very confused – how come estate agents are allowed to take people to view properties, there must be loads of people visiting properties they may wish to buy.
There could be at least four or five viewings to each house for sale a day.
So you have many people in your home you wish to sell.
We cant have friends or family in but strangers are entering willy nilly.
J Tas, Redditch
LET’S stop the Government scrapping the Union Learning Fund in England at the end of March. This unique scheme provides lifelong learning in many local workplaces, bringing together employers, education providers and trade unions to give workers a second chance at learning by contributing time, money and resources.
Learning and re-skilling will be core to helping us recover from the impact of Covid-19 and dealing with the changing world of work because of automation. While we welcome the Government’s plans to invest £2.5 billion through the National Skills Fund, we are concerned about how effective that investment will be and who it will reach.
The cost of gaining new skills shouldn’t be out of reach for low paid key workers. We are asking the Chancellor to recognise the value of union learning and provide the necessary £12 million in the Budget on 3 March. I ask readers to support the campaign by signing the online TUC petition at: usd.aw/ulfpetition
P Lillis
Usdaw General Secretary
188 Wilmslow Road, Manchester M14 6LJ
