Criminals can clean litter
Every week in the Ayrshire Post we are told that petty criminals are being sentenced to so many hours of “unpaid work”.
Can someone please explain what kind of work they are supposed to be doing, does anyone supervise them, and why can’t they be put to clearing the streets and road verges of the litter that is blighting the landscape?
I fully support the Post’s campaign against litter, but why rely on volunteers to do the job when there is what appears to be a large pool of potential litter pickers who could be given this task, on an ongoing basis?
Angela McAllister Seafield, Ayr
‘Cunning plan’ back fires As someone born and bred in South Ayrshire but no longer living there I continue to read the Ayrshire Post each and every week, including Bob Shields regular column and agree with what he says most of the time.
However, it is clear from his last offering that he was a sports journalist ( a good one at that) and not a political commentator as he clearly does not understand the way in which council by- elections work.
His ‘ cunning plan’ is for the Conservative group of councillors in South Ayrshire to resign en masse creating by- elections in numerous wards in the hope of removing sitting SNP councillors.
Sorry Bob but that isn’t the way vacant seats in any Council Wards are filled in by- elections and hasn’t been since 2007. In these days of multi member wards if there is a vacancy, for whatever reason, within a particular Ward or wards, then a by- election is held to fill the vacancy and only that vacancy not all of the members of that Ward. Effectively what Bobs ‘ cunning plan’ would achieve would be that all 12 Conservative councillors would resign creating by- elections to replace those 12 vacancies. . The other six councillors elected would remain as councillors.
Like Baldrick’s ‘ cunning plans’ Bob’s doesn’t make any sense as all it would achieve would be to cost South Ayrshire Council a not inconsiderable amount of public money for absolutely no reason and no change in the number of Conservative Councillors, unless, of course, not all the vacancies created by Bob’s ‘ cunning plan’ were filled by Conservative Party candidates.
Bob, quite rightly, complains of South Ayrshire Council wasting public money so perhaps he should do more research before advocating what would be a waste of more public money.
To paraphrase Bob’s own article, as a political commentator perhaps he should just ‘ fold em’ and walk away’. James McClung
2 Police House Glenluce, Newton Stewart
It’s all in the cash Having pick up my Post as usual I viewed the letters page I was struck by the letter from Paul Mansbacker on using the Station Hotel for council offices depending on what happens with the Dangerous Buildings notice .
That issue is fast coming to a conclusion as to Paul’s point about the council complaining of lack of funds readers should look at the recent budget set by the council as they are borrowing close to £ 29 million a year for the next eight years, to do capital funding projects like the £ 30 million for the redevelopment of the areas identified in those same budget papers.
The downside to that is of course the repayments in some years that could be as much as £ 15 million a year again figures from same source , however the point Paul makes about the viability of the town centre is a justified one as there seems to be a mental block when it comes to promote that where a shop is brought back into use the occupier can be granted non domestic rates exemption for bringing it back in use. Ian Stewart,
83 Thornyflat Road, Ayr Signs area waste of cash How much money of our money was spent at the new litter signs at the Fish Cross just to be ignored like the yellow lines about the town and even no smoking signs at Ayr Hospital.
Has the council got enforcement officers? Dare I make a suggestion?
Ask for volunteers from the council staff to be a litter warden for a week once a month and pay two of them £ 50 for their week on this duty and rotate them so their face is not seen too often.
This would cost the council nothing as two tickets a week would cover this and still put £ 20 into your coffers. Tom McGuire, Union Avenue, Ayr
Outrageat Growler I note with horror Mr Kenny MacPherson has announced plans to open an establishment in Beresford Terrace/ Burns Statue Square under the offensive name ‘ The Growler’.
Anyone who has a passing knowledge of urban slang, or the ability to search the term on Google, will, I trust, share my outrage and dismay that the people of Ayr should have to suffer this affront. I plan to complain in the strongest possible terms to South Ayrshire Council, hoping that the people in charge of common decency and moral standards will put a stop to this dreadful name appearing in my beautiful hometown. I implore others to do likewise.
Paula Nimmo, Ayr