Readers' letters

Don't keep bad design fault
Historic England wants council bosses to preserve some of the bus stations wooden sliding doors   but a reader disagreesHistoric England wants council bosses to preserve some of the bus stations wooden sliding doors   but a reader disagrees
Historic England wants council bosses to preserve some of the bus stations wooden sliding doors  but a reader disagrees

I read with incredulity Historic England’s plea to retain the original sliding doors, along with the retention of the bay numbers at Preston Bus Station (LEP, October 29).

It seems clear to me the people at Historic England (HE) have never actually visited the bus station for, if they had, they would have immediately recognised the two big flaws in the design of the bus station which were the bay numbers and the sliding (?) doors.

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These are the two biggest bugbears of passengers using the bus station in that one cannot see the actual bus destination signs from the concourse and secondly one has to be an Olympic weightlifter in order to open the (non-) sliding doors to actually get to the buses.

Thus one has to wait for a bus on the concourse in draughty conditions, for the doors have to be kept open, otherwise no one would be able to access the buses, least of all some little old lady or gent.

Shows how much compassion this body, full of its own self-importance, has when it thinks about the elderly, and a bit ironic in that it wishes to retain elderly things.

How the people at Historic England can even have the temerity to suggest that these BAD design faults should be retained, I find galling. They lose all credibility with me and my fellow bus passengers. In my opinion, THEIR opinion should be ignored.

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I invite them to visit Huddersfield Bus Station (whose design bears some similarities to Preston Bus Station) where the bay numbers are etched into the glass so the bus destination signs (this means the signs on the actual buses) can be seen.

Or they could visit Lancaster Bus Station to see how the doors should be designed.

There is no merit in retaining the heavy wooden doors nor the bay numbers unless it is the wish of Historic England to preserve the original badly designed features. Is Historic England seriously asking us to have to put up with these design faults on the unprofessional whim of some organisation which wishes to live in the past?

HE, instead of sounding as though your opinion is important, think carefully how your actions are going to perpetuate the problems with the bus station for people who actually use it, rather than just look at it.

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At the moment you make yourselves look and sound ridiculous and thus no one will value your opinion because it is based on utter twaddle.

Mind you, the spokesman for LCC made an interesting comment when referring to the doors. LCC concluded that “the doors could only operate as originally intended...”

And therein lies the basic problem. The doors have NEVER operated as originally intended for they were too heavy for the mechanism that allowed them to slide. That was a basic design fault.

Why does this stubborn Historic England fail to recognise that? Is it simply concerned with the aesthetics of a building rather than the practicalities? Or is it just like the non-sliding doors: just too thick and cumbersome?

Neil Swindlehurst, Walmer Bridge

Reminded of Shaw’s words

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We are all intrigued with the candidates for the United Sates Presidency. I wonder how a nation, as reputedly great as that nation is considered to be, can produce candidates of such low and dubious quality.

We, here in Britain, have had our share of poor quality candidates for the office of Prime Minister, but nowhere near the abysmal state of the USA in this election. It would convince anybody with a sound mind that elections can be bought if Trump is successful. I am reminded of the words of Bernard Shaw: “America went from savagery to decadence without the intervening stage of civilisation”. His words ring true at this time as the educated world holds its breath.

Keith D Swift, Ribchester

Bonfire fun at Maudland Bank

An old school mate has passed me the above classic shot of St Walburge’s Junior School boys, on what looks like a day at the Whit Fair, on Preston Flag Market. The famous Moon Rocket ride is pictured on the right.

The picture is dominated by the Maudland Bank ‘Rooney’ dynasty, great Peel Street characters with their trademark prominent front teeth!

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Talking of Maudland Bank and its adjoining streets – Dunderdale, Tuson, Bentick, and Peel – these streets, some 60 years ago (1955), were preparing for the celebration of Bonfire Night. No Halloween distraction in those days. School half-term was the week for mobilisation of all the troops to ensure that enough wood was collected and hidden from view from other rival ‘Bommy’ collectors.

‘Raiding’ parties were the order of the day to pinch any of the rival hoards that we came across. What joy!

When November 5 came around, after school that day, the Bommies were set up in the five streets adjoining Maudland Bank.

The fires were built to a height of 6ft in the middle of the road! Tyres, bedsteads, wardrobes, and so on, added to the pile.

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So too with fireworks... ‘Standard’ brand penny bangers, twopenny Cannons, Flying Imps ...to throw around with gay abandon! No health and safety measures in those days.

The Fire Brigade cruised passed occasionally to check the five bonfires were not out of control. There were very few vehicles in those days, which left plenty of room in the streets for bonfires.

I remember there were very few complaints from neighbours at the prospect of a large fire being lit at the side of their houses.

Wilf Riley via email

Drivers, use your indicators

Have you noticed all the cars that don’t have indicators?

Every time I drive these days, even on the shortest journey, I am looking at an increasing number of cars that don’t appear to have indicators!

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This is on top of car drivers who haven’t had the operation to surgically remove those mobiles from their ear holes!

After more than years of driving, I have never known it as bad.

Mr Brooks, address supplied