Readers' letters - Monday, November 21

Fail to plan, plan to fail
Work in Pope Lane has been put on hold because of the location of pylons. See letterWork in Pope Lane has been put on hold because of the location of pylons. See letter
Work in Pope Lane has been put on hold because of the location of pylons. See letter

Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail – this motto should be drilled into employees at LCC Planning Department for, at the moment, only one fiasco after another is emanating. The trouble is that these are basic mistakes.

Take the latest in a long line of costly errors: the lack of knowledge of the electricity pylons around the Pope Lane roundabout of the A582.

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Do they not have Ordnance Survey maps in the Planning Department? And, if they do, why do they not look at them, particularly the ‘general features’ section which shows the symbol for ‘electricity transmission line’, and then look on said map to see where they go near to this junction. If they don’t have these maps, why do they not get out once in a while and actually go and look at the features that they are planning to alter?

Bear in mind we are not talking here about some old tree stump hidden in the undergrowth, but huge pylons with multiple electrical cables attached to them. Just at what point did somebody, who was actually working on the site, spot these?

Surely this should have been spotted before the work had even begun. Yes, back at the (pause for emphasis!) planning stage?

I do not know if the Ordnance Survey office still exists down London Road but, if it still does, I bet the hard-working surveyors there would be wondering what exactly is their purpose if not, in part at least, to serve by helping the local planning departments in the execution of their duties.

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The irony of all of this, unless they live outside of the county, is that those responsible in the Planning Department are actually paying for the mistakes themselves. The trouble is so is every other LCC council taxpayer.

Yet here we have a council beset with having to close public amenities due to lack of funds, but we see money being squandered away by people who, it seems, are not fit for purpose. I suggest the culprits should be made to write a book about their exploits, maybe later turned into a film. The title? How to plan to waste money without really trying! And what about the cabinet member(s) who have an overall responsibility for the Planning Department? Time for them to fall on their swords, perhaps in rather a grizzly way, from the top of the pylons? Well, at least they will get the point.

Neil Swindlehurst, Walmer Bridge

Fellow drivers, courtesy please!

Every morning I drive down the A59 towards Penwortham.

From the roundabout at the police headquarters, the traffic is always backed up.

This part of the carriageway has two lanes which filters into one at Howick.

Which also means, under the Highway Code, ‘merge in turn’.

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Yet the majority of drivers don’t know what this means, or, if they did, they wouldn’t straddle over two lanes and refuse to let the traffic merge into one!

Last week, I was the one subjected to this stupidity!

The traffic was heavy at Hutton roundabout. Taking the second lane there was, what I could see, ten or more vehicles straddling two lanes.

I was struggling to get into the left lane, so drove further down and indicated to merge.

I couldn’t go any further as the tractor in front took up both lanes.

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The lady at the side of me was edging closer to the tractor, leaving me with not much of the right lane left, only then to blast her horn and hurl me with abuse.

There needs to be a ‘merge in turn’ sign, as I am seeing more and more road rage, people thinking they own the road and mouthing off.

Is it too hard to be considerate?

If everyone let one car in and be more courteous, we wouldn’t have these morning ructions.

Come on motorists, some consideration and courteous behaviour goes a long way!

Name and address supplied

Praise for RPH staff at Ward 21

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Nine weeks ago, my grandad was taken into Royal Preston Hospital following a stroke.

Sadly, his condition has deteriorated to such an extent, palliative care is being provided by hospital staff in his final days.

I appreciate the professionalism, hard work and the care provided by doctors, nurses and health care assistants sometimes appear to go unnoticed.

I have seen at first hand the dedication shown by staff on Ward 21, often in the most difficult of circumstances.

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This is why I felt it important to recognise the wonderful and remarkable work of all staff that work on Ward 21. The care they have given my grandad, and that of the other patients I have witnessed, has been nothing short of amazing! Staff are friendly, supportive, respectful and responsive to the needs of patients and their families.

I would especially like to mention staff nurses Laura, Anne-Marie, Karen, Mandy and Tanya. Also, HCA Nikki, trainee HCAs Chris, Phil and consultant Dr Sultan. I have asked the CEO Karen Partington to thank the staff personally for their hard work, dedication and professionalism.

Jay Mayren via email

What’s wrong with being ‘PC’?

Comments made by some about Trump’s election do not seem to mention that he is a white supremacist racist who uses offensive cultural and ethnic stereotypes and typifications to demean other groups of people: Mexicans are this, Latinos are that.

This is utterly unacceptable and some of the comments he’s made would get you arrested in this country, rightly so.

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He is also sexist and the same thing applies to his comments, in what he thought was a private conversation, as apply to his racist statements.

People say only the ‘PC brigade’ are offended by him.

What kind of defence is that and what is wrong with being ‘politically correct’ when it comes to someone’s right to be free from insult and negative conjecture anyway?

As for saying “it was a vote, he won, it’s over”, or words to that effect, do you really grasp the international connotations of his being made president of a country which thinks it can do what it likes in the world?

Terry Maunder, address supplied