2009-2010
February 12th 2010
To the letters editor of the Wakefield Express:
Pam Yates asks "Is Balne Lane next?" (WE. Letters. 5.Feb.2010) and lists other closures in the library service (Sharlston, Flanshaw and Sandal threatened.).The short answer is - yes.
With the completion of the retail park,with the proposed city-branch library situated above the shops,Balne Lane library will be closed. That much is planned. What will happen to the other services is open to conjecture. Since the Music and Drama Library is a regional provider,it could be relocated anywhere in the Yorkshire area. Even more interesting and important is what will happen to the special collections presently stored at Balne Lane ?
Already the reference function has been quietly removed and the local studies service has taken its place.At least the local materials are still largely visible and accessible, but there are other important collections on site which people don't know about.
When I left the library service in 2006,I compiled an inventory of collections, and wrote descriptive papers on several of them. For example, there is a wide-ranging collection of motor-repair manuals,which is probably the best in the country, and includes official manufacturer manuals as well as Haynes guides, Balls DIY editions, pocket guides and marque books. The collection also covers motorcycles and scooters,trucks and taxis; it ranges all the way back to the 1930's "Austin Ruby" model, and takes in models up to 1974 at least,and some foreign models beyond that. This could form the basis of a national collection, but where will it go? Most of it is not catalogued, and so invisible to the enquirer.Without staff expertise and assistance it is difficult to access and use.
There are other special collections of:- bibliographies/ annuals and serials/periodicals/ parliamentary papers/oversized humanities and art books/foreign novels, and much more.
There is also a rare 1770 edition of Diderot's "Encyclopedie" in 17 volumes with dedicatory pages to the Austrian arch-duke who sponsored the book.(only 2 other copies known to be in UK libraries), and other such special materials. Unfortunately, the collection of Victorian and Edwardian junior picture books,annual and classics (gathered together by a previous county children's librarian) has been lost! I saw the remains of it after a book sale at Balne Lane. The staff told me that the best items had been taken "by dealers".
Once we had a Chief Librarian; now we have only a "library manager", and professional qualifications are not required. We used to employ cataloguers,classifiers, bibliographers,and staff with a wide book knowledge who could assist with reference enquiries. Not today.
It seems that Wakefield Council is rather embarrassed by the rich collections it holds on our behalf, and wishes they could be spirited away, but we should resist this approach. If it costs too much to keep, conserve and maintain,why not establish a charitable "book trust" to do the job instead? But I forgot, WMDC is obliged by the 1964 Libraries Act to provide " a comprehensive and efficient" library service. So why doesn't it?
Brian Else. B.A.Dip.Lib. (former ALA)
November 26th 2009
To the editor of the Pontefract & Castleford Express:
We note with interest that Rocpower's application to build a biofuel power station behind the Linpac works at Featherstone has been approved.
The company's managing director is reported in the Express as saying it will be "using second-generation biofuels that are co-products from, for example, the paper production and food industries", but its actual application and supporting documentation talk about "electricity generation from virgin vegetable oils".
It seems to us that the people of Featherstone deserve a better, less confused explanation of what it is exactly they are going to do.
The burning of vegetable oil has been linked with the emission of nitrogen oxides and small particulates linked to respiratory illnesses and heart problems. The lack of a consistent elucidation of their intentions on Rocpower's part can only fuel the suspicion that sooner or later this is actually what they want to involve us in.
What we do here is important, we're at the centre of a great movement for change, what we do here will affect people round the world, and it matters we get it right.
Neal Frankland
Rennie Smith
2008-2009
September 30th 2008
To the editor of the Wakefield Express:
The responses to the withdrawal of proposals to site and develop a sports stadium in Thornes Park have been mixed. Some are jubilant that the Park has been saved; others are angry at the loss of an amenity that would have benefited them above other ratepayers.
My own view was set out in previous local elections, when I said that the Park was not the proper place for this type of stadium, and that there were (and are) other, better sites to develop.
It seems we have been side-tracked by a Labour preference for easy financial deals, which have now turned sour.The money markets are in disarray, easy borrowing is no longer an option (and rightly so.)
Two points remain to be answered: do we want a super-league stadium? and how should it be financed?
Clearly, Wakefield Trinity Wildcats wish to maintain super-league status, but they are a private business. Additionally they have a wide fan base that wants them to be successful.
I would like to see some action by the supporters in raising money to help buy a suitable site. I would like to see a Trust Fund set up for this purpose, with shares on offer to all-comers. The Fund could then assist the Business in obtaining a site for development.
There are large areas of land that could be used to advantage,where the stadium, administrative offices, retail outlets, supporters social club and adequate car-parking and bus parks could be built. Think only of the former power station site.
If such a Fund were to be established, I would be one of the first to send in a cheque. Can it be done?
Brian Else
February 5th 2009
To the editor of the Guardian:
The multiple walk-outs by engineering construction workers across Britain over the past week have put the corporate threat to jobs and working conditions at the top of both the national and European agenda.
In response, MEPs from the UK, Germany and Italy, representing Socialists and Greens, have threatened to veto this year's incoming European Commission, unless it agrees to revise the Posted Workers Directive, so that its original intention, to provide equal treatment for all workers, is upheld.
If we are to end "social dumping" in Europe, we must change the law, so that British and other European workers do not have to compete within factories and companies with those forced to work for lower wages and in poorer conditions. Instead of blaming "foreign workers", we should be challenging the rights of multinationals to undercut local pay rates and exploit workers.
It's vital that we resist the attempts of those on the far right who are using these disputes to stir up racism and xenophobia. We therefore call on MEPs from all nations and political groups to sign our Written Declaration, in order to put serious pressure on Commission and Member States to ensure that they listen to workers across Europe, and that social justice is put above corporate profit.
Caroline Lucas MEP (Green), Glyn Ford MEP (Labour), Stephen Hughes MEP (Labour)
March 8th 2009
To the editor of the Wakefield Express:
The debate over the future of the Royal Mail shows how resistant the Labour government is to new ideas when they are most needed. Privatisation, in part or whole,is the old ideology which the banks have shown results in a false economy and a failed economy.After all, private money and private management were intended to carry the risk of any enterprise,leaving public finance as an "off-balance-sheet" device,unrecorded as actual public debt. Following the collapse of the banking bubble,it is public money (tax-payers' money) which has to take on the risk and rescue the banking industry. Why would anyone wish to place Royal Mail in the same trap?
There are alternative and better ways of re-forming Royal Mail to make it secure and accountable,and one of these is some form of mutualisation involving trust status and profit sharing for employees.The Government, which took so much out of Royal Mail when it was profitable,owe it to the company and the nation to restore it to health by underwriting the pension fund.
Let the co-operative ethos prevail with customers becoming shareholders in their local Post Office.(Remember the Co-op dividend?) A return to mutualisation is one part of the Green New Deal,which calls for "green energy, green transport, green agriculture and green waste management". This means a use of renewable and sustainable systems to rebuild the economy,providing real value and more jobs. Private finance will always follow where it sees a profit,but control should be with the people in the community. That is the way we should go.
Brian Else
June 25th 2009
To the editor of the Guardian:
Simon Jenkins calls for a revival of the spirit of the left. We can begin it by changing the welfare reform bill which is completing the committee stage in the House of Lords. A small group of Independent and Liberal Democrat peers are trying to amend the legislation in order to protect people with severe mental illness. People with mental illness want to contribute to society and to have their dignity. We need a system in which people suffering fluctuating conditions are able to move in and out of work without fear of punishment or loss of income. It will require flexibility in a properly funded system, government support for employers, and it will mean an integration of non-coercive support, therapy and care for people with mental illness. Instead of the bill contributing to the problem of mental illness in Britain, it could become part of the solution.
Neal Lawson (Compass), Caroline Lucas MEP, Jonathan Rutherford (Middlesex University), Prof Ruth Lister (Loughborough University), Jon Cruddas MP, Leanne Wood AM (National Assembly for Wales), Oliver James, Sebastian Saville (Release), Mark Thomas, Sam Tarry (Young Labour), Frances Kelly and Rosemary O'Neill (CarerWatch)
July 23rd 2009
To the editor of the Wakefield Express:
The government recently released details of its programme for renewable energy production, which should encompass more wind-,solar, wave and tidal-power systems. Microgeneration eg. home and local production,is to be encouraged with a system of financial incentives. So what will happen in Wakefield?
Some years ago there was a planning proposal submitted,and approved, to instal a small hydro-turbine on the river Calder at Kirkthorpe Weir; it remains just that,- a proposal. There was some local opposition to the necessary construction of a temporary road,and some people were concerned about river levels and fish stocks,but these were addressed positively by the planning application. But then, nothing happened! The energy passing over the weir continues to go to waste.
Meanwhile, at Settle in North Yorkshire,a community hydro-electric scheme has been approved, funded,and construction began in June this year. The scheme is run as a local,community company (an Industrial and Provident Society to be precise ),where shares of £1.00 each are sold to people in the community (a form of co-op.) By funding a not-for-profit organisation the scheme can be seen as a social and not a financial investment.This allows it to be controlled by the community,and the long-term value is shared by all.
The project has been properly researched and an independent assessment carried out on the likely impact on fish stocks,with safety measures built in. It is hoped that 165,000 kWh (units) of electricity will be generated each year (enough to supply 50 houses), and 80 tonnes of carbon will be saved as well.Over a 40 year life span this will add up significantly.
The Kirkthorpe project would be smaller (capacity 0.386 kWh ),but no less important in the battle to reduce dependency on imported fuels and carbon-generating methods.If private finance will not undertake the work, maybe the Settle style of development should be the one to follow ?
Is there enough interest to revive this project,seeking community backing,funding and control to put Wakefield on the path to self-sufficient energy generation? I am sure that,with the wholehearted support of Wakefield Council and community determination and vision,Kirkthorpe hydro could yet be realised.
Brian Else
August 12th 2009
To the chairman of governors at Wakefield City High School:
I was surprised to read in the 'Wakefield Express' (August 7th, page 3) that you had cancelled a booking for a talk to be held in Wakefield City High School on the human rights issues surrounding Guantanamo prison camp. You are reported to have said that "it was too political and controversial". No one doubts that use of such a facility is 'controversial', and because matters can only be changed by governmental action, it is also 'political' - but it is not party political, since it is challenged from all parts of the political spectrum. There is no way we can divorce human rights issues from being 'politicised', but that is no reason for a school hall to be unsuitable as a venue; quite the contrary.
I am aware that there are 'laid down procedures' to follow when deciding whether to allow public or council space to be used for debates on current topics. I have previously worked in the council's library service and had to judge on such matters as allowing posters, notices, and displays on contentious issues. Clearly, party political material was never permitted, but public meetings, open to all, could take place. We even, during my service, allowed and encouraged a display on such themes as 'Islam: the religion of peace'. Perhaps you can quote me the present procedures so that I may judge if they have altered unduly?
Last year, Caged Prisoners Ltd. Hosted a similar meeting on Guantanamo Prison Camp at the council's Lightwaves Leisure Centre, at which Moazzam Begg spoke as a former inmate of that facility. I attended with my wife, though did not see any council representatives there. The meeting was well-supported, especially by young people; the debate was orderly, and the conclusions were supported by the majority present. All as it should be. So what has changed for you to believe that a public venue should not host such a meeting? Or that the subject is not suitable for debate in a place of education used as a public hall?
The issues under scrutiny are of importance to all of us, of all political persuasions and parties;they concern human rights and human rights abuses. How much more relevant can it be that these issues are addressed in a school in front of students?
From the press report, there appears to be some confusion as to who defined the meeting as unsuitable, and who took the decision to cancel. Can I hope that you will clarify the situation here, and on refection and analysis, admit that an error was made, and reinstate the booking for the Hall? These are important issues which require whole-hearted support, and are just the very issues that schools should be debating.
Brian Else
August 24th 2009
To the editor of the Pontefract & Castleford Express:
Because as Greens renewable energy is our cause, we have a particular interest in seeing that cause is not discredited by inappropriate development. We would therefore like to add our voice to the many that have already spoken out against Banks' proposal to site a wind farm at Westfield Lane.
To attempt to squeeze so large an undertaking into so small an area, in so close proximity to housing, would, in our view, be a mistake. The buffer zone between the turbines and residents' homes would be considerably smaller than that generally recommended, than that which has been considered sufficient elsewhere in Britain.
We have a duty to get the transition to a low carbon emission, post-peak oil society right, to make sure it is done properly and humanely, that the case for wind, solar, hydro power is not harmed by ill-conceived speculative projects harmful to human health, and hope Banks' appeal against the planning committee decision proves unsuccessful.
Better proposals we will support. We remain committed to renewable energy, and clean coal, and opposed to any extension of nuclear power.
Neal Frankland and Rennie Smith
