No return to this petty town
HAVING visited Southport recently – as we often do – I was surprised at the attitude of the local council when fining me £25 – if I pay promptly – for having a valid parking ticket upside down on the dashboard.
Naturally, I did appeal but this fell on stony ground amid a swathe of regulations.
Currently I feel reluctant to return to the town if this is the sort of petty bureaucracy I will encounter for such a small mistake.
Andrew Long via email
LET’S WEED IT OUT
I READ the development plans for Southport and, as much as I applaud the effort to move our town forward, I did laugh out loud.
I have recently been on holiday here in the UK.
I saw a number of ordinary little towns, smaller than Southport, looking neat, tidy and floriferous.
What did I see on my return as I left West Lancs on the road from Ormskirk? A roundabout full of weeds. Have the people supposedly maintaining our public spaces not heard of weed-suppressant membrane?
This scene is repeated across our borough. Try walking down Arnside Road, off Manchester Road – it is full of weeds.
As a resident in Southport I think we should be putting right the things that are wrong and detract from our town before we start redevelopment.
Name and address supplied
PAYING TO PRAY
I THINK there is an issue I should bring to readers’ attention.
One of the places that is the most multi-cultural in Southport is St Marie’s RC Church in Seabank Road, a church I attend. despite living in Birkdale.
It’s remarkable. People from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Spain, France, Portugal, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, a number of African countries and more come to St Marie’s.
The age range goes from a few months to nearly 100, and people come from far and wide to join in.
In these post Brexit times this is a wonderful gathering where everyone feels welcome and secure, as many visitors to Southport comment.
So it is with regret that I find there is to be a tax placed by Sefton on this wonderful gathering.
Parking around the church has always been free on Sunday, it’s now £1.50 per hour and as Mass is at least an hour it would have to be £3.
Many of these families are not the wealthiest in society, and a tax on religious worship seems harsh.
I would ask for a simple solution, bearing in mind that the council needs income at the difficult times why not make the streets around the church that were previously free on Sundays start paying at 1pm rather than 11am as family Mass is at 11am and is very popular.
On Saturdays I would make a plea for fees to stop at 5pm rather than 6pm, which would cover vigil mass. Steve Redfern Birkdale
DON’T BE SO CRUEL
I WISH there were large notices displayed in car parks, recreational areas, beaches and sand dunes warning dog owners to be more considerate of their “four legged friends” when it comes to jogging and cycling, dragging dogs in tow irrespective of the dog’s age, capabilities or breed.
I can appreciate that it is easier to combine a dog’s exercise with that of their own but it isn’t a fair exercise regime for a dog.
On many occasions these poor animals are given no alternative other than to keep up the pace of their owner whilst they continue to run excessive distances or lap after lap around parks, becoming tired, exhausted and overheated.
Cyclists continue to pedal at a speed suitable to themselves, expecting their dogs to run