April 7: Councillors should choose democracy
Your article Petition protesting against Unity College change (March 28) captures a moment of critical importance for democracy in Northampton.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) wants to replace Unity College with a fast-track Church Academy, although the local community, including over 1,000 local stakeholders, are totally opposed to the scheme.
The county council has to decide whether to close Unity College so that the academy can go ahead, or to recognise the strongly-expressed wishes of local people and refuse to shut the school doors at the behest of the DCSF.
Councillor Joan Kirkbride and her fellow elected members have a unique opportunity to save democracy in Northampton.
Under the distinguished leadership of Margaret Gwynne, Unity College has become a vibrant school, earning the praise of Ofsted inspectors for recent progress.
Parents are unanimous in their campaign to save the education of 1,200 students from the disruption and destruction that will follow a decision to close.
The Diocese of Peterborough, lead sponsor for the academy, has appointed a new headteacher and announced a new name for the college, although the consultation over closure continues.
The diocese has no concern or respect for parents, staff and children at Unity and has disregarded their views throughout.
If the county council decides to close Unity, the unelected, incompetent sponsors who have mismanaged every aspect of the academy project so far will be left in complete control.
The consequences of a decision to close are too awful to contemplate.
The challenge for Councillor Joan Kirkbride and her colleagues is to recognise the strength of local feeling and support democracy, or to produce evidence that more than 1,000 people favour the project and that there are clear arguments in favour.
To refuse closure would be a triumph for local democracy. I earnestly hope that Councillor Kirkbride has the courage and democratic commitment to resist Government pressure.
What is needed, above all, is pause for reflection and time to rethink from scratch the best way forward for Unity.
Bernard Barker,
Emeritus Professor, School of Education, University of Leicester.
Editor's footnote: A report to Northamptonshire County Council's cabinet meeting on April 14 recommends that the establishing of an academy be deferred until September 2010, although Councillor Kirkbride told the Chron she still thought an academy was the right solution.
Flaws in borough glass recycling
Through the Chronicle & Echo I express my feelings regarding the article in the paper headed Glass rounds proving a really smashing idea.
Once again I feel that our borough council has not thought this idea through.
I am always in favour of any scheme which provides the borough with an income especially if it reduces the burden of local tax but I am against any scheme that makes a situation worse.
Mrs Trini Crake has admitted that introducing glass collections will make the situation difficult for those who have a large garden since the brown bin collection will become a monthly collection.
I can assure Mrs Crake that those of us who have a reasonable-sized garden should have a collection once a week especially from April to November.
The article then goes on to say there will be help offered if we can purchase a second brown bin and/or take our garden waste to the tip.
I would like to ask why I should be obliged (because of a glass collection) to buy a bin and what do I use to transport garden waste to the tip?
One final thought on this subject: has the borough council realised the weight of the glass since it seems to me it will need to be quite a large container to hold a monthly supply. Come on borough council, if you are going to do it, do it right.
C J Roberts,
Vienne Close, St Giles Park, Duston, Northampton
Garden rubbish must come first
Referring to the glass collection due to start in June, I am all for recycling but not at the expense of a garden bin collection.
It is surely easier for someone without a car to take a couple of jars/bottles each time they go shopping, than to try to dispose of a bin full of garden rubbish.
Most supermarkets have a bottle bank, but it is impossible to clean out a load of garden waste unless you have transport.
As for buying an extra brown bin, I would imagine they are quite expensive.
E Webster (Mrs),
Birchfield Road East, Northampton
Selfish drivers make me mad
There are still too many drivers using their mobile phones while driving. I see them every single day, as I am driving all day long.
It really makes me very mad and, sorry to say, there are still not enough drivers obeying the law.
They just seem so selfish sometimes‚ they just don't seem to care.
I use a hands-free device and only receive three calls a day then maybe make just one call myself.
But I see these can also be a distraction if not used correctly and my communications are very short and only last a few seconds.
John Cromwell,
Private Hire Taxi Driver for Amber Cars, Northampton.
Anti-NHS Tory must be sacked
In a recent interview on American television, leading Conservative Daniel Hannan, an MEP for Southern England, stated that the "NHS was a mistake".
Clearly this is completely at odds with the warm words from the Tory leader, suggesting that the NHS is safe in their hands.
I therefore call on the Tories in Northampton to declare their revulsion of the words of their maverick MEP and take steps to remove him from their party list in the June Euro elections.
David Brede,
Blossom Way, Little Billing, Northampton.
Language lament
All heil to Mrs Stafferton (Viewpoint, March 31) for complaining about the use of the word "Stammtisch" by Northamptonshire Police.
I hope this becomes a cause clbre. We have far too many Quislings trying to sabotage the English language with bons mots from Johnny Foreigner.
Let's blitz them at once before they salami-slice all that is good about our culture!
Ciao.
Alan Woodley,
Park Avenue, Northampton.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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