Readers' letters - November 23

Instead of building on the ever decreasing green belt land, why aren’t areas such as Church Street and surrounding roads being developed?

Church Street is a disgrace but could be restored to its former characterful glory.

Just look at how the Blue Bell has been restored so sympathetically and how the remaining buildings could follow.

Demolish the awful 1960s faceless shops and build town houses in keeping the area.

Manchester Road and surrounding streets are dreadful, with tatty shops, derelict land being used as car parks, and empty warehouses and businesses that could be restored into apartments and houses.

Please no more huge blocks of flats, as in Friargate, which have completely ruined the street scene.

The surviving shops should be given grants to improve their exteriors and fast food shops limited in number.

This should be happening in Friargate too.

There is potential for hundreds of good quality houses that include parking and gardens.

If this area was in Fulwood, it would have been developed in an instant.

Also why does New Hall Lane still look so run down, still with empty shops and houses?

It is unbelievable it has had such a huge amount of money spent on it and still appears dilapidated.

From a fed up 
resident of the forgotten quarter of Preston

society

Need to tackle fuel poverty

The North West’s largest pensioner organisation, the North West Regional Pensioners Association (NWRPA), has called on the Government to launch a new fuel poverty commission to urgently address the scale of annual winter deaths among the country’s older population.

The call comes as official figures show an estimated 34,300 excess winter deaths occurred in England and Wales in 2016/17 – the second highest number in the last five years. This equates to 9,720 more people dying this winter than in 2015/16 and represents a 39.5 per cent increase.

Successive governments have simply ignored the problem of winter deaths amongst the older population and seem to have a policy of crossing their fingers and hoping things will improve.

Today’s figures show that this policy simply doesn’t work – in fact things are getting worse. Using the Government’s official definition of fuel poverty, around 1.4 million older people in England are at risk. In addition, almost one in three older people live in homes with inadequate heating or insulation, making their homes more difficult to heat or keep warm.

In total, this accounts for around 3.5 million older people at risk or suffering from fuel poverty.

The key to tackling winter deaths is to make sure older people have got a well-insulated, warm home and the income needed to pay the fuel bills.

This is a basic requirement of what a decent society should do.

A fuel poverty commission should be set up as a matter of urgency with the task of finding solutions to this problem such as rolling out a more effective programme to insulate homes, building more suitable properties for older people, raising the winter fuel allowance and tackling the excessive profits of the big six energy companies.

Derek Barton

NWRPA

remembrance

Puzzle of war memorial cross

Every November, shortly before Remembrance Day, a small cross in memory of John Crane is put into the soil of the flower pot at the base of Forton War Memorial.

I would love the person who has done so this year, and for several years, to contact me, Margaret Mansfield (01524 791338), if s/he is willing?

I am in electronic contact with Christopher Crane (now nearly 90) who lives in Australia.

He would like to know who you are and to know to which branch of his family you belong.

Margaret Mansfield

Forton

heritage

Promote town’s rich history

After the local news on television, there were clips from the new Heritage Centre at York, including a street scene from the 1600s, with the old shops and businesses as they were then.

What a good idea. Could this not be done in Garstang, seeing that the market town is steeped in history?

Maybe it could be set up in one of the empty buildings, for instance the council offices?

It could include the historical information about the Garstang to Knott End railway, not forgetting the Pilling Pig train.

I have been to the ruins of Greenhalgh Castle and was shocked to see the information board was illegible.

What would the tourists think of this? I have made a complaint to Wyre Council, but as yet not got a reply.

There is so much history in Garstang, for instance, the crumbling castle.

I feel that nothing is being done, only a Heritage Trail.

I am sure you will agree that this could bring a large financial gain from tourists to the town.

Colin Keeble

Garstang Resident

motoring

Only indicate when necessary

Re: Motorists use some common sense (LP Letters, November 17).

Just as bad as brake lights are vehicles stopped at traffic light et cetera with indicators on, when it is obvious which way they are turning.

Alan Cross

via email