Letters: Affordable housing is the basis for prosperous lives

THE Scottish Government has announced that a record number of affordable homes were built in the last year, which is welcome news.

This came as the building of the first new council housing for a generation began in Edinburgh.

However, as welcome as this news is, we must remain cautious about the state of the sector. Last week's Housing Survey by the government revealed that the social-rented sector fell by 10 per cent between 1999 and 2009. Demand far outstripped supply and it would reportedly take more than 17 years to clear the current list.

As the public sector makes cuts and we continue to feel the effects of the recession, the demand for affordable housing, for people in need and from a wider range of household income groups than ever before, will only continue to grow.

Affordable housing provides the basic secure requirement for many people who cannot buy or rent privately. It matters because it prevents and reduces the demand for public spending and provides good jobs, so strengthening the economy.

We must remain committed to ensuring people have the opportunity to live in safe and secure homes in areas where they want to live.

Keith Anderson, chief executive, Port of Leith Housing Association

Display tram for the world to see

FAR from removing the tram for the Pope's visit, we should highlight it.

Then the millions viewing on TV would see that at last Edinburgh is investing in a modern public transport system, one that will be very familiar to our neighbours in Europe who are years ahead of us in developing their tram systems.

As for a single tram blocking the view of spectators, well I'm afraid that is rather stretching the imagination, given the length of the Pope's route.

Paul Tetlaw, Lynedoch Place, Edinburgh

New speed limit makes no sense

WHY has the A8 now got a 40mph limit?

The A8/A89 has only one section of dual carriageway (between Newbridge and Gogar) and, until this week, was a 70mph limit. It is now 40.

Further west it is either 50 or 60 as there are some crossroads and junctions to consider.

Between Maybury and Drum Brae it carries a 40 limit despite dense housing, schools, churches and numerous junctions.

If the council had reduced that section to 30 I would have applauded the move, but to leave that at 40 and impose the same limit on the dual carriageway is beyond comprehension.

Norrie Henderson, Meadowhouse Road, Edinburgh

Cyclists should be kept out Capital

MICHAEL Brock (Interactive, August 24) is a typical cyclist. There's no argument which form of transport causes the most damage.

Walking on Bruntsfield Links, I constantly have cyclists whizzing past me on footpaths with "No cycling" signs. They also take shortcuts across the grass because they are too lazy to ride on the road.

Walking on the cyclepath I get a bell-ringing psycho telling me I am not allowed there.

Yet the most recent accident in the Links was a poor pensioner on a footpath and a cyclist where he should not have been.

Cycling is a hobby, keep it to mountains and country roads.

Colin Smail, Viewforth Gardens, Bruntsfield, Edinburgh

UN must probe Lockerbie case

THE UN is clearly the right body to hold a proper investigation into all matters relating to the Lockerbie tragedy.

It would also restore some authority to a body damaged by Washington and London's behaviour over the illegal Iraq war.

A year has been wasted by opposition parties attacking Kenny MacAskill and showing no interest whatsoever in supporting a full inquiry into Lockerbie.

Andrew JT Kerr, Castlegate, Jedburgh