Letters: Members of public should be stamping out litter bugs

I DISAGREE entirely with Malcolm Fife’s criticism of volunteers cleaning up public parks or indeed any open space (Letters, September 25). There should be no need for volunteers to be organised as members of the public routinely walk past litter which they could easily put into bins.

Mr Fife mentions an increase in outdoor activities as a need for more cleaners. The opposite is surely the case as that means extra people using the parks for recreation who could keep them clean. It’s doubly unfortunate that some of these are the very people dropping the litter.

Places such as public parks are community facilities and it shouldn’t be too much to ask for members of the community to look after them.

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Example soon spreads and can be started on a very simple level, such as a family or other group checking an area before enjoying their activities in it.

Robert Dow, Ormiston Road, Tranent

Reopening school is just one idea

I refer to the front page headline on Monday, September 24 (Primary school to reopen after two years) which 
suggested Fort Primary School will reopen.

As the article itself outlined, the reopening of Fort Primary is only one of a number of options currently being considered to help deal with the issue of rising rolls in popular schools.

Other options include the provision of additional accommodation at schools where pressures are likely. I would like to reassure parents that while we are looking at all options we will be speaking to them and their schools individually about their needs and any decision will be taken forward following this dialogue.

Councillor Paul Godzik, Edinburgh City Council

It’s all about the rub of the green

Stockbridge green space is threatened by the Edinburgh Accies’ plans. By now everyone is aware of this – except my critic, Louise Hodgson, who is evidently too busy playing pots and kettles to notice (Letters, September 24).

The big question, here and in Portobello and elsewhere, is why?

Why are the Accies set on desecrating their historic cradle with a commercially orientated development stretching from their southern perimeter wall to about a quarter of the way across their playing field?

Why should schools built in Portobello and Comely Bank in the past 50 years need to be demolished and rebuilt on virgin turf?

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Why is it that sound school buildings like the original Broughton and Boroughmuir – both over 100 years old – are to be sold as office space?

The answers to all these questions are perfectly clear: money, money, money.

It is not about furthering sport and education. It’s all about greedy property developers and the suckers – the taxpayers – they exploit to enrich themselves.

I have lost count of the number of times we have let the profiteers spoil the beauty of Edinburgh.

Alan Murphy, Learmonth Grove, Edinburgh

Wind turbines are a load of hot air

In reply to the letter from Clark Cross (September 26), wind turbines are unreliable, expensive to run, ugly and the biggest insult to a human being’s intelligence that I have ever come across in my lifetime.

I also think beyond a shadow of a doubt that wind turbines are partly to blame for the utterly atrocious weather we get here in Scotland and also our now non-existent “summer” season that is, at best, a washout in every sense of the word.

Alan Lough, Boroughdales, Dunbar

Motorbikes can’t be filtered out

With our roads being constantly closed, ripped up and poorly restored, there is a strong case for motorcycling in our city.

With care, queueing becomes a thing of the past, journey times shrink and visits to petrol stations become far less frequent.

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More motorists than ever are now motorcyclists too and this is increasingly evident in the courtesy shown – and gratefully returned.

There are, however, some drivers who resent being passed while they fume in stationary traffic and to those few I suggest they read the Highway Code, which clearly states that motorcycle filtering is entirely legal.

Norrie Henderson, Corstorphine