Solar farm mirage

I REFER to the recent coverage by Emma Lidiard of the rapidly sharpening debate on the solar farm project within the North Wessex area of outstanding natural beauty, and the subsequent decision of the Borough Council planning committee to approve a planning application for Britain’s biggest solar farm, at 80.5 hectares, or 10 football pitches, or bigger than nearby Chiseldon!

Contrary to the claims of Mr Harcourt in the Adver of December 9 (that 96 per cent of his chosen sample are in favour of the development), I have yet to come across anyone who has considered and understood the objections lodged by the North Wessex AONB and who has still supported this massive, unprecedented industrial folly in the middle of a nationally and legally protected agricultural landscape.

Mr Harcourt hosts a Facebook chatroom entitled People of Wroughton (which 96 per cent of my chosen sample find both pretentious and unrepresentative of the village of Wroughton).

But that is the problem with surveys and questionnaires. It all depends on the questions you ask and what information your respondents are given as to the answers you get.

Swindon Commercial Services appeared to be relying on similar kinds of unrepresentative and ill-informed population samples when it boasted the day after the planning committee decision that only one person had declared against the scheme.

Certainly SCS was ill-advised when claiming that the presumption in favour of sustainable development, inherent throughout the National Policy Planning Framework, applies within the AONB. Even the chief ally of development at all costs – the Secretary of State, Eric Pickles – was forced to confirm this was not the case. In fact, the NPPF makes clear that “planning permission should be refused for major developments in these designated areas”.

The Swindon Local Plan echoes this provision within the North Wessex AONB and legal protection is also offered by the CRoW Act 2000.

So, Swindon Borough Council (not for the first time) has succeeded in one evening in running contrary to the law and national planning policy, as well as contradicting its own Local Plan.

I would support any renewable energy projects that are sustainable (looking doubtful with the frequent changes in government policy) and that are outside nationally designated areas like the AONB when there are viable alternatives sites in Swindon. This is also the position of the North Wessex ANOB in its request to the Secretary of State to “call in the planning application” for a public enquiry.

I would urge parish councils and other representative bodies to support them and defend our heritage.

John F Newman, Wroughton parish councillor, Wroughton

 

Give greed boot

IF anyone has any doubts about the gap between the real world we all live in compared to the world our elected representatives live in, surely the audacity of our MPs’ latest greedy and shameless attempt to obtain a pay rise sheds any doubts on the matter.

The proposed rise of £7,600 per annum should be highlighted, as a senior citizen has to live on £110.15 per week. That is to pay his or her bills, as well as feed themselves. That is £5,727.80 per year.

They want £7,600, not to keep them for a year, but as a wage rise on top of their £66,000, giving them a weekly wage of, wait for it, £1,415.38 per week. That is £1,305.23 more to live on per week than their senior citizen constituents. This is 11 per cent, putting them on a par with the utility bandits they are supposed to be stopping, not joining.

Any MP who takes this ridiculous increase in these hard times, when thousands of old people die from cold-related illnesses as they cannot afford the heating bills, should quite frankly be booted out of politics at the earliest opportunity, no matter which party they represent.

These manipulated puppets of the Brussels puppeteers need to be taught a lesson after the disgusting expenses scandal, when many of them were caught red-handed with their grubby paws in the cookie jar.

In my lifetime I have never known public opinion of our MPs to be at lower ebb. These people were at one time treated with the greatest respect by the public.

I remember many years ago meeting David Stoddart in my local Royal British Legion, where he was treated with honour and distinction, regardless of the political leanings of the people who conversed with him. As was Michael Wills when I met him at social evenings. Both were pure gentleman and cared about their constituents, not lining their own pockets at our expense.

Within a few short years this has all vanished. I cannot see it being regained unless there is a massive clear-out at Westminster.

Bill Williams, Merlin Way, Swindon

 

A sorry apology

IT was refreshing to see an apology of sorts from Steve Thompson in the Advertiser recently for mocking members of UKIP.

Mr Thompson also directed readers towards our website in order to find out more about UKIP policies, which will helpfully expose the inaccuracy of the statements that he went on to make. For example, we are not “anti-management”, as he implausibly states. We believe that taxpayers’ money should be used efficiently to deliver frontline services to the public. Efficient public service delivery will involve reigning in the numbers of senior managers and private consultants employed by Swindon Borough Council. Furthermore, we do not want to “stop all public borrowing”, we want to see public finances brought under control and run in a responsible way. Presumably Mr Thompson would be happy to carry on with the previous and current levels of public spending which have shackled our children and grandchildren to record levels of national debt, still rising under the Conservatives/Lib Dems at a rate of £2.3 billion a week and set to reach 99 per cent of GDP next year.

The money we spend every year on debt interest is more than the central government spending on education, the courts and the police put together. This is money we cannot then spend on public services that benefit the taxpayer. There were some inaccurate personal comments about me that were made by Mr Thompson. If a rundown of my employment history is what he is looking for, he can contact me for a discussion one-to-one.

In Swindon UKIP we will continue to talk about practical proposals to address local issues that the public are really concerned about. From UKIP’s party political opponents, apart from personal references, there remains a deafening silence on real life local issues in Swindon.

John Short, Chairman, Swindon UKIP

 

Control migration

IN reply to Martin Webb of December 11, may I remind him that 28 per cent voted for British independence in the Eastleigh by-election.

Left-wing policies are full employment, decent homes for all British families, good education and quality, well-funded public services.

But it should be obvious to Mr Webb that none of these things are possible unless we have properly controlled immigration from the European Union.

Noel Gardner, Carlisle Avenue, Swindon

 

UKIP on the rise

MARTIN Webb surely must be doing this to personally rile me.

Yet again he rants off that 73 per cent of people didn’t vote for UKIP during the Eastleigh by-election. However this is merely a slant on the truth. UKIP saw almost a 25 per cent gain in popularity at Eastleigh, which is a trend that will be repeated around the country, hopefully, in 2015.

I know I shouldn’t be surprised by Mr Webb’s approach to bending the truth as he loathes the fact that UKIP are making inroads into the “establishment”, with their look-after-your-own-first type policies. This is causing lefty do-gooders like Mr Thompson and Mr Webb to slap their copies of the Socialist Worker on the table in anger and frustration.

Let’s dispel Martin’s slander on the truth: l In Eastleigh the turnout was 52.8 per cent – totalling 39,560 voters.

  • Traditionally a Lib Dem hot spot, however, they were pushed to the wire by second-placed UKIP.
  •  UKIP saw a huge surge of new voters siding with them – an increase of 24.2 per cent.
  • All other parties saw a huge exodus of voters to UKIP – apart from Labour, that saw an increase of 0.2 per cent (in real terms, eight new voters) If proportional representation was adopted in this country then what we would see is a huge increase in UKIP representation within the Commons. However, the establishment would never let this happen, hence first past the post.

This gives the career politicians the lifestyle security they believe that they deserve, with their 11 per cent pay rises plus expenses, and pensions we could only dream of. This does not serve or represent the will of the British public.

Previously I recall Martin Webb accused me of being a “defeated man” when I embarrassed him into appearing a bigger fool than perhaps he is. His argument here? Calling people ignorant who support UKIP.

This is indeed so weak he could easily pass for a Labour frontbencher, with nothing to say, or nothing to add to the political argument.

He and his socialist, left-wing views are in decline.

Defeated man? Look at your own reflection, Mr Webb.

Brian Binns, Wroughton

 

Kitchen racism

NO ONE would deny there is a debate to be had about migration, but it must not be couched in racist terms.

While one may say, without being racist, that too large a number of people may come from Bulgaria and Romania in January, to say that too many Bulgarians and Romanians will come certainly is racist.

One recent letter mentioned a particular race of people (the Roma), and this was particularly beyond the pale.

C J Meek writes that Frank Avenell and G Ing have been hounded by the PC lobby for having the courage to speak out.

As a critic of these gents’ letters, I can only assume that Ms/Mr Meek considers me a PC lobbyist. I have lobbied no one on these issues and I have hounded no one, I have merely responded to letters that were published.

Upon occasion I write letters that other correspondents write to disagree with. Some of them are my friends.

I do not consider it courageous to write to the paper, nor do I consider myself hounded if I am disagreed with even, if it is implied I am a PC lobbyist or a soundbite politician.

I just consider the author of such piddling insults to be silly.

One soundbite I will allow myself, however, is that if Messrs Avenell and Ing can’t stand the heat they should stay out of the kitchen.

Steve Thompson, Norman Road, Swindon

 

Train patriotically

In reply to C J Meek of December 9, the patriotic way to recruit staff for the NHS would be to train up our own nurses and doctors.

Here in Britain we have nearly a million unemployed young people searching for a career path.

The obvious thing to do is to train up our own nurses and doctors to fill these vacancies and help reduce our very high unemployment here in Britain.

Steve Halden, Beaufort Green, Swindon