Road rage, Campsie Community Council and politics – Letters to the Editor for July 31, 2013

Local issues

RE Councillor Gillian Renwick’s letter (Herald, July 24) – it’s disappointing that one of our elected local political representatives should exercise her energy in formulating such negative comments, regarding two such industrious, considerate and accessible politicians as Jo Swinson MP and Gregg McClymont MP undoubtedly are.

There are many local issues affecting the inhabitants of several of our wards here, of which Auchinairn and Hillhead, are two of the prime examples:

* Proposed closures of many fine, community-orientated schools to be, apparently, sidelined to make way for the grandiose, elitist and unrealistic (to many minds)plans for the new Lairdsland Primary School – sited on the edge of water.

* The closure of Hillhead Community Centre, with no apparent real political will to provide a replacement.

* The relative neglect of our own Auchinairn Commumity Education Centre, with so many of its dedicated, hard-working and vocational staff.

* The relative inattention paid to Bishopbriggs Library, to its ‘big brother’ equivalent, the William Patrick Library – with its ongoing problems, costly heating glitches being only one.

* And, of course, a MAJOR schism, flagged-up pre-reorganisation of Police Scotland, which contributed to – it is believed – the dissolution of East Dunbartonshire Council’s Public Safety and Health Partnership. Let’s hope that particular story will not run and run.

While the councillors are “in recess for the month of July” might they re-establish a new order to encourage all of our citizens to become pro-active – making them feel that their thoughts and opinions actually matter.

I’m optimistic that Cllr Renwick will, in her enthusiastic, considered way, agree with us.

Alison Marshall

Auchinairn resident.

Well done, Campsie CC

Congratulations Campsie Community Council! The newly-installed feature wall at the junction of Benvue Road and Rowantree Place is a beautiful new addition to the village.

Everyone I have spoken to loves it and believes you have successfully created an attractive new focal point that both local residents and visitors to the area can appreciate.

It is heartening to see that, even in times of great financial hardship, our community council is still striving to secure external funding for small projects that can help to make our community more

attractive – money well spent in my opinion.

My only negative feedback on the project (and it is just a minor criticism) is that there is no seating.

A few benches around this new focal point would have completed the project nicely as there is no seating provision whatsoever at this end of the village – but nevertheless well done!

Name and address supplied

Sainsbury’s support

Lynne Ferguson (Herald, July 17) sets out various reasons why she thinks the expansion of Sainsbury’s should not go ahead.

But why shouldn’t it? The surrounding land is owned by them and is an ideal setting for expansion. The present site is convenient for Kirkintilloch and Lenzie customers, and there is no need for another supermarket only a few hundred yards away.

Lynne Ferguson tells us that Sainsbury’s plans for expansion are beyond her.

It is very simple. The land is already available, such expansion will bring further employment to the town and the town centre will be enhanced by Sainsbury’s contribution.

Profits will soar, but I thought that is what companies were in business for.

Robert A. Penney,

Thistle Court,

Donaldson Street,

Kirkintilloch.

Environmental Fears

Most people in the UK invest money in the country’s biggest banks and pension funds, but we have very little control over what they do with our money. Every year, these companies pour billions of pounds into coal, oil and gas extraction across the planet, pushing us ever closer to runaway climate change.

Dirty fossil fuel projects are often situated in poor countries, but instead of helping more people get access to electricity, all too often they make local people’s lives much worse by robbing them of their homes or polluting their land and water.

Alongside this, the decision by the UK Government to give tax breaks to companies who wish to extract shale gas using the fracking process is cause for concern for people in this area due to the environmental damage and pollution it will cause.

We need to cure our finance sector of its fossil fuel addiction, and as a first step banks and pension funds should be made to report the carbon emissions from the dirty energy projects they finance.

Only when their impact on the climate is made public will we have a chance of forcing them to reduce it.

John Miller,

Mossgiel Road,

Cumbernauld.

Angry drivers

Has anyone else experienced road rage – or should that be parking rage – in the area beside Kirkintilloch health centre and the miners’ club?

It seems that every taxi in Kirkintilloch uses the car park road as a fly shortcut.

This morning I was treated to the charming sight of a puce-faced taxi driver yelling and swearing aggressively at someone for having the temerity to drive on the road when he wanted to get past.

He’d clearly just juked in from Lenzie Road, trying to take a shortcut to avoid the lights. In doing so he had met four or five cars coming from Industry Street and there was an almighty row.

A little more care and consideration wouldn’t go amiss – or is that too much to ask?

Name and address supplied

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