IN LAST week’s publication you included a letter entitled ‘Why I have resigned from the Conservatives’ submitted by former Councillor Roger Bennett.
As a former works convenor for several years who was experienced in the legislation on ‘appeals procedures’ it is quite against the rules of natural justice that Mr Bennett’s appeal never took place.
If this had happened in a industrial environment the company involved would have been found guilty and possibly would have to pay compensation for not following its own laid down procedures.
Just because this is the Conservative party they think they are above the law.
Whilst I am not a Conservative voter Councillor Roger Bennett helped many residents of all parties with problems and was highly respected in the area.
I feel sure if he were to stand as an Independent at the next local election he would have a lot of support of many residents in Headless Cross and Oakenshaw.
Name and Address supplied
FURTHER to the letter from P Jones about the unlit street light in Moorcroft Gardens (Redditch Standard) there is a light in Cemetery Lane, Redditch, which has been out for a similar length of time despite it being reported several times this year.
On one occasion I was told it wasn’t the council’s responsibility and to contact the crematorium, presumably because it is near the entrance to the cemetery.
The light is marked on the Council’s plan of street lighting.
It is very dark along this lane which is used for parking and would be safer for everyone if the lamp was lit.
M Jones, Southcrest
REGARDING the lack of street lighting in your letter from P Jones (Redditch Standard).
Isn’t this just another way for Worcestershire County Council to brag about its energy saving credentials?
We pay over £1,000 a year to the county council in council tax and what do we get in exchange?
If you haven’t got children, precious little is the answer, apart from a library the council wants to demolish.
I bet all the street lights are all working in Worcester.
J Robinson, Woodrow
WE ALL want our lives back and a ‘normal’ Christmas – whatever that is – and nobody wants another lockdown.
However the pandemic is not over and approx one million people are getting Covid and approx 4,000 are dying every month.
How on earth can this be considered ‘acceptable’?
Unfortunately we have a PM in charge with a very casual relationship with the truth, a Health Secretary who seems more concerned with the economy than health and scientific advisers (excluding Prof Van Tam) who have meekly gone along with government policy at most critical points in the pandemic.
We also have a ridiculously expensive Test and Trace system which has so far cost the taxpayer billions.
The World Health Organisation states that wearing face masks in crowded indoor spaces particularly in the Winter will help contain the spread along with the vaccines.
So why the reluctance by Johnson to make such a cheap and basic step mandatory again?
Looking around in shops and motorway services it is obvious you can’t rely on common sense alone.
I Welch, Redditch
I WRITE regarding the article in Redditch Standard about the future of Redditch Library.
May I, through your newspaper, ask Councillor Matt Dormer to tell me what ‘the library function is safe’ means?
There appear to be funds to demolish Redditch Library but no clue is given about its replacement.
The library’s current services and facilities include:
Public gallery space for artists/groups to display their work
Meeting rooms for hire by the public/local organisations
48 public computers and space for people to study
Printer/photocopier for the public
Humidity controlled storage for newspapers dating back to the 1800s
comfortable seating area with coffee available
Redditch Job centre location
Lending books and making reference books available for the people of Worcestershire
I should like to be reassured by Councillor Dormer that all these services and facilities will be retained.
E Chustecki, Rowney Green
As Christmas approaches, and we think about the season of peace and goodwill to all, we encourage everybody to consider the impact they have on animals.
Every year, around 14 million turkeys are farmed and slaughtered in the UK – the vast majority of them for Christmas dinners. Most of these turkeys will have spent their short lives on a factory farm, where they are denied their basic needs. There is rarely any natural sunlight, there is no grass, and premature death and disease is commonplace.
Animal Aid has uncovered the horrific conditions on turkey farms over the years, including on so-called ‘high welfare’ farms.
Regardless of whether these animals are farmed on factory farms or smaller “high-welfare” farms, they always end up facing horrific and terrifying deaths at the slaughterhouse.
The good news is that there is a number of plant-based options available in supermarkets and from independent retailers, as well as a plethora of recipes online! In fact, Animal Aid is offering a free digital copy of our Have a Very Vegan Christmas recipe booklet to anybody who wants to have a cruelty-free Christmas this year.
Show compassion for all animals this festive season and opt for a vegan Christmas dinner.
Those interested in learning more or receiving a free copy of our vegan Christmas recipe book can visit: www.animalaid.org.uk/their-christmas-wish
T Bradbury, Animal Aid
