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Letters should be sent to: The Village Voice, The Saddleworth Independent, 5 Kinders Crescent, Greenfield, Saddleworth OL3 7JQ or emailed to aimee@saddind.co.uk
We respect the privacy to use nom de plumes by request but no letters will be printed with full names and addresses being supplied to us. The Editor reserves the right to edit letters and her decision is final.
Weather disruption
I admire and support local charities but why are two of our most prestigious fundraisers held during the worst weather of the year?
I refer to Saddleworth Parish Council’s annual Civic Ball and the Rotary Club of Saddleworth’s sponsorship of a play by Saddleworth Players.
On both occasions, guests had to brave bitter weather conditions to attend the worthy causes and in the case of Delph Theatre they had the additional hazard of navigating a solidly frozen untreated car park.
Surely it’s time to forego traditions and schedule these events later in the year instead of putting supporters, many elderly, at risk?
D.Bradford (by email)
The school debate continues
AS A lifelong Diggle resident, I have followed the school case very closely from the start.
I have also been involved with both the technical committee at the school and attended a face-to-face meeting with the EFA to hear first-hand the results of the feasibility studies.
The EFA told us first hand they had received “warm comfort” from the Oldham planners that the school would NOT need to be natural stone or slate.
How can we rely on those same planners to genuinely take into account local concerns when they say this behind closed doors? Will we end up with a building eyesore like the Mossley Hollins school which is a blot on the landscape?
OMBC had told us 15 months ago that the choice was the “FRONT of Diggle” or nothing, and that the EFA would only go with that site.
Clearly that was not true as now, with public outrage, the back of the site is the preferred location. Vested interests with local developers and OMBC have had too much influence here.
As a pragmatic individual I would be prepared to accept the rear of the Diggle site might well end up being the final option but OMBC will have to work hard to get this through planning without being challenged and I believe there are three things they could do to help reach some compromise.
Firstly they could promise to change the front TWO fields at the front of the site to green belt forever – this would also then demonstrate that the developer and OMBC did actually listen to local views and would prevent the inevitable development of houses on those fields in years ahead (leading to ever more congestion in the village).
Secondly they could promise to make sure the planning process insisted on local materials such as stone, and that the building design is in keeping with the old clock tower that is being retained as a listed building.
They could also ensure lights and other environmental pollutants are kept back as far as possible on the site to avoid further disruption to residents.
Lastly, the road widening at the entrance to the village and adequate alternative parking facilities for the residents must be clearly set in stone so potential inadequate capital receipts from the land swap deal will not be allowed to compromise any infrastructure requirements of any kind.
I believe OMBC can now demonstrate that they might consult in a meaningful manner (when to date the consultation and communication has been poor at best).
Stuart Illingworth (by email)
Pause for thought
BEFORE ANYONE else comments on Diggle being the chosen site for the new Saddleworth Secondary School, please read the following poem, penned many years ago. It may give some perspective.
When Robert was a Young Man
From: Rhyming Through Saddleworth – Vera Winterbottom
When Robert was a young man, he worked on the canal,
And he “legged” the boats from Diggle right through the moor,
It was the “Age of progress” when the long boats went
Under lonely Stanedge as they never had before.
Robert’s father shook his head – times were changing fast,
So much bustle nowadays, no quiet anywhere,
Coaches flying down the road at twenty miles an hour,
And sometimes four or five at once in Uppermill Square!
When he was a young man, no tunnel had been made,
Folks disembarked at Wool Road near the inn in the lane,
And then the little packhorses went on across the hill
To Marsden in the valley, where the “cut’ began again.
When Robert was an old man, in eighteen-fifty-eight,
They made a new tunnel, and then the railway came,
And he mourned the tow-path horses and the quiet waterway,
And disliked the hissing engines, all smoke and flame.
But Robert’s great-great grandchildren are used to the railway,
– Their talk is all of racing cars and Jets and motor-bykes
As they pitch their tents in summer near the tunnel on the moor,
Or fill jam-jars with sticklebacks from weed-choked dykes.
Cllr. Neil Allsopp, Greenfield (by email)
‘Robin’s Hood’
This lovely photograph was taken recently by Cyril Fogg in his Highmoor garden during a snowy spell in Saddleworth.
Do you have a photograph of a local scene to share with our readers? Send it in high-res format by email to aimee@saddind.co.uk and it could be included in our next paper.
For the Love of…
VALENTINE’S DAY. Love is in the air…. Love for someone special.
And what else do you love? Your parents? Your children and maybe grandchildren?
Perhaps where you live. Holidays, fish in white wine sauce, football maybe, animals, life, our earth.
But so many of these things we love are threatened, by climate change and the ever increasing number of humans on this finite planet.
But we have hope. We know a lot about it. Most of the things that need to be done to slow it and to adapt to it are already understood.
Yet it feels overwhelming. Too much information, too complicated, too many problems. It’s exhausting and scary too. So we try to pretend it will go away, that we cannot do anything by ourselves.
But we can do something. We can insist those in a position to make decisions and take action get on with it. Those of us who care are telling our politicians, our businesses and our charities that this issue is really important to us. Because it affects the things we love most. Our childrens’ future. Our hobbies. Our passions. Our lifestyles. Our safety and wellbeing.
We’re saying loud and clear – let’s act on climate change, for the love of everything we hold dear. Join in; every little helps!
For more information, see http://fortheloveof.org.uk/
Dave Sanderson, Upppermill (by email)
Dangerous drivers
I HATE to sound smug but here’s a question for the vast majority of Saddleworth drivers: if you’ve spent umpteen thousands of pounds on a new vehicle why not go the extra mile and invest in snow tyres?
I am bewildered by the number of drivers I see slipping and sliding all over the place, causing major problems for other motorists trying to avoid them.
An investment of an additional hundred pounds or so in snow tyres (most cars only need two on their driving wheels) is the remedy.
My motor whizzes over snow and ice like a gazelle. Get smart: don’t get stuck and drive safely in snow!
Comfort zone, Dobcross (by email)
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