Letters: Call a taxi for the buffoons who spoil our great city

THE owners of Waverley station are seeking to boot the black cabs out of the premises and give in to the terror threat.

THE owners of Waverley station are seeking to boot the black cabs out of the premises and give in to the terror threat.

The same company has milked these cab operators for a fortune in permit fees to provide a service to their many customers, disabled and able-bodied alike.

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Then the council says it won’t pick up the tab for the cost of reconstructing the surrounding roads.

This is the very same council which has wasted hundreds of millions of pounds on a tram project that is ripping the heart and soul out of out beautiful city.

Every day we have to listen and adhere to half-baked and ill-conceived ideas that never seem to benefit the hard-working people of Edinburgh.

A world-class city, run by world-class buffoons.

Gordon Barr, Rankin Avenue, Edinburgh

Give us an inquiry into trams now

I AM sure everyone is pleased that the Scottish Parliament is to investigate the handling of the legionnaires outbreak, and to do so as soon as next week (News, June 20).

If this investigation can be set up so quickly, then why do we have to wait so long for an investigation into the handling of the trams project?

The people of Edinburgh want answers and should have them now, not some time in the future.

Frank Russell, Broomhouse Crescent, Edinburgh

Doing the best to serve our people

YOUR readers may have been concerned on reading your story “Council told to up its game is still struggling” (June 7).

This article was based on an Audit Scotland Best Value inspection of Midlothian Council which rated this council’s services as “satisfactory”.

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This independent inspection, by experts, gave us the second highest rating possible on the scale assessing how we are dealing with change – it said we had “good prospects” for future improvement.

Overall, it is a very positive endorsement of the progress being made by this council.

While I am not content with “satisfactory”, and share with my colleagues a desire to improve all of our services for residents, the fact is that a satisfactory rating is certainly not a failure, and we were close to achieving a good rating.

A second fact is that we have a number of services which are performing well above the national average – and we are ensuring we learn from these successes when addressing the areas where our performance is less strong.

We are an ambitious council, aiming for the very best for the people of Midlothian.

Kenneth Lawrie, chief executive, Midlothian Council

Bring Waterworld back to surface

ALASTAIR Ogilvie (Letters, June 20) expresses the views of many when he says it’s possible the best kids’ pool in Scotland is closed and notes that funds ‘saved’ will be diverted to the Commonwealth Pool.

We’re all justifiably proud of the Commonwealth Pool and recognise the need for and inspiration provided by elite facilities and achievements.

But closing one sporting facility to fund the upgrading of another must always be a last resort.

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It’s also important that we have genuinely local access to such facilities, as bus fares and entry fees are another barrier to be overcome by those on low incomes.

Recognising the many benefits the pool brings, ‘Splashback’, a determined group of local people, are currently investigating management models that will allow them to re-open Leith Waterworld.

The Overweight, Obesity and Activity Report from the Growing up in Scotland study was published last month.

The report found that access to local leisure facilities, such as swimming pools, was associated with low physical activity and sedentary behaviour.

Many of the risk factors for young children being overweight and having low activity levels are modifiable – that is, they can be changed – we can target interventions.

It makes no sense to close facilities like Leith Waterworld when we have this evidence of their importance in protecting the health of our children.

Alison Johnstone MSP, Lothian Region, Scottish Green Party, Scottish Parliament, Holyrood, Edinburgh