Your letters this week (May 17)

May 17 2012 by Andrew Jackson, Buckinghamshire Advertiser

How to pull in the pub punters

I AM writing to highlight the number of recent pub closures in south Bucks.

The sale of the Dog & Pot pub site in Stoke Poges to property developers is just the latest example.

Gerrards Cross has no pub, and the former French Horn is still a pile of rubble.

The One Pin in Hedgerley, the Star and Prince of Wales in Beaconsfield, the Lambert Arms in Denham, the Farnham Pump.

The list goes on.

Pubs are far more than just places that sell a drink. They are vital social and community centres.

Here are some ideas to help pubs:

● Look again at how supermarkets sell cut price booze, sometimes below cost price.

● Allow at landlords’ discretion a separate, marked and ventilated smoking room. I agree smoking shouldn’t be allowed in the main part of the pub.

● Ease restrictions and taxes generally on pubs and small businesses. The Chancellor needs to stop picking drinkers pockets at Budget time

● Investigate whether breweries, especially those with tied pubs, are unfairly pushing up the price of beer and other drinks.

I am now off to my local (the Royal Standard in Beaconsfield) to have a pint!

TIM SCOTT

UK Independence Party

South Bucks

Danger junction’s a risk to everyone

Re: Crossing danger for pedestrians. Bucks Advertiser, May 10, page 9

HAVING read the Buckinghamshire Advertiser today, I was delighted to see that you are highlighting the problems that the pedestrians are having due to the horrendous traffic lights that were installed in Gerrards Cross.

Not long ago I was nearly involved in a nasty accident due to a car coming out of Station Road, where the lights were green for the cars, and I was crossing from Boots where the lights were green for us to cross.

The Station Road lights are unnecessary as cars could filter safely either way.

Again, a couple of weeks ago, a similar accident nearly occurred by a car, which had been waiting (only a couple of cars can get round, and that car was the third one trying to beat the lights and consequently was going at speed), and someone else was nearly the culprit.

It is so difficult for anyone using a wheelchair to cross the top of the Station Approach as it is all zig-zag and also on a slope.

Normally when crossing the road, looking ahead to see the lights is so much easier for both young and older people rather than looking sideways.

Do we have to wait for a fatality to occur before anything is done. Who is responsible for all this?

R DUNCOMBE

Gerrards Cross

via email

Generous public help out RSPCA

OUR fundraising week at Tesco stores, which took place earlier this month, is our biggest of the year and with the help of the huge army of willing volunteers was yet again a resounding success.

Our collections amounted to an amazing £6,825.

The branch would like to thank everyone who was part of this fundraising event, including the stores, for allowing us to collect, and all the volunteers and the public for their generosity in these hard economic times.

SOUTH BUCKS BRANCH

RSPCA

Welcoming Blanc with open arms

WE ARE delighted to learn that the Raymond Blanc Brassiere and courtyard development in the Old Town’s London End has finally been approved.

It has been a long journey and Beaconsfield Old Town Residents’ Association has actively supported the scheme from day one, through the appeal period and to this latest application.

BOTRA is dedicated to preserving and maintaining the character of the Old Town and this development will contribute significantly to its growth and longer term economic future following a period of decline over the past decade.

The Old Town also suffers from a lack of modest accommodation and car parking problems – complicated by common land law.

Both issues will be eased somewhat with the completion of this development, with up to five apartments and off-street parking for 40 vehicles.

Hall Barn will remodel the frontage of the Old Bakery (Brasserie Blanc) and restore it to its 1860s appearance thus enhancing the character of London End.

We look forward to the completion of this development later next year.

JOHN BROWN

Beaconsfield Old Town Residents’ Association

Investment in midwives welcome

RE: Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley’s announcement on maternity services and postnatal depression.

THIS is very good news for women and midwives. These are positive plans from the Government, targeting areas of maternity care that are under prioritised and under resourced.

The impact of a miscarriage or a stillbirth can be devastating for the woman and her family and postnatal depression can be a crippling and sometimes fatal illness.

Early detection and treatment is crucial.

It is also excellent to see an intention to ensure that long-standing NHS commitments, such as one-to-one care in labour and choice about where and how women give birth, becomes a reality for all women.

I welcome the Government’s offer to work with ourselves and other groups to make these plans work. This is important because there are a number of challenges we need to address together.

The Government has been committed for some time to ensuring a well resourced health visiting service in England.

However, a good health visiting service follows on from a good maternity service.

The RCM is pleased to see the Government acknowledging this but it also must be resourced.

While there are more midwives now than ever before, the number of births have been rising steeply and they are more complicated.

We know many women are not currently getting one-to-one midwifery care on labour or choice of place of birth.

We also know many women do not always get the best care after the birth of their baby.

The RCM has been saying for a long time that without real and sustained investment in midwives, change is hard to achieve.

This announcement gives us some hope that this is now understood.

Having more student midwives in training is a good starting point.

We need to work with the government to ensure that these students are able to find employment as midwives to guarantee delivery of these pledges.

The RCM’s assessment is that in order to deliver the high quality care proposed by the Government, we need 5,000 more midwives.

CATHY WARWICK

Chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM)

County streetlight sums are wrong

Re: New £3.7m streetlights, (Examiner April 26).

I suggest that, if Bucks County Council thinks the proposed new lights will pay for themselves within 14 years, it appears to have got its sums wrong somewhere.

Since the new lights have a quoted lifespan of only six years, two replacements, which will presumably not be cheap, will be necessary within the 14-year period.

COLIN SEABRIGHT

The Woodlands

Amersham

An online route to jobs in finance

The latest unemployment figures show a continued fall in the number of jobless people between January and March.

Previous indicators had been that hiring intentions were stronger than they had been for some time in the finance and insurance sectors, and increasing numbers of businesses were complaining about skills gaps, so this should mean more opportunities for jobseekers.

There are still many talented and enthusiastic young people in the South East seeking employment. Many may need help in researching careers and honing their job-seeking strategy.

The Financial Skills Partnership’s website, www. directions.org.uk, is a good place to start researching careers profiles and connecting with employers. The new Graduate Foundation College also offers a fast-track to employability in the finance sector.

LIZ FIELD

CEO Financial Skills Partnership

Gresham Street

London

Be an Independent Age ambassador

COULD you be an ambassador for Independent Age?

I work for Independent Age, the charity which supports thousands of older people across the UK and Republic of Ireland.

We tackle older people’s poverty and loneliness by offering information, advice and friendship.

For those who need it, we also offer befriending and support from an Independent Age volunteer.

We support around 6,000 people in the UK and Ireland and are looking for new volunteers to help to raise our profile, attract new volunteers to the charity and manage an existing team of volunteers in Buckinghamshire.

If you like getting out and about and meeting new people and think you have what it takes to help recruit, support and motivate our volunteers, then we would love to hear from you.

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who has a few hours a month to spare.

It could enable you to develop new skills, or make use of your professional skills in a voluntary capacity.

It could make a real difference to the lives of older people.

To find out more about becoming a volunteer with Independent Age contact Nicola Franklin, area manager for Buckinghamshire, on 0116 271 8851 or nicola.franklin@independentage.org.uk.

NICOLA FRANKLIN

Independent Age