Trustandhonestyisvital

During periods of cataclysmic global turmoil, it feels strange to comment on day to day matters.

However local democracy and the well-being of our communities remain important bedrocks of our civilised lives.

Often in the Post there are very personal, named attacks on democratically elected councillors as if they were deliberately making decisions that will impact negatively on some of our communities.

I believe councillors may make unpopular decisions, but they make those decisions in good faith.

Many of these decisions result from commitments made in a manifesto, voted on by the electorate.

Therefore, I would like to commend South Ayrshire SNP and the present administration for following through on their 2017 manifesto commitment to deliver 20mph speed limits in villages in South Ayrshire.

As a resident in North Carrick, all the villages there have a combination of new signage, road markings, warning lights and ongoing safety engineering works.

This should have made the villages safer for children and the elderly, but unfortunately as a resident of Straiton it is clear through traffic – white vans, timber lorries and commuters - brazenly ignore the new safety measures and speed limits.

In addition, the manifesto referred to increased accountability for Ayrshire Roads Alliance to ‘ensure South Ayrshire benefits from the services provided by ARA’ and again I would reflect my own positive experiences over the last four and half years, even during lockdown.

ARA have responded timeously to concerns about potholes, bridge repairs, dangerous stretches of road and have developed a very effective online ‘report a fault’ system.

Maintaining roads in North Carrick is a monumental task with the extremities of weather coupled with increasing levels of heavy traffic on country roads.

If administrations make manifesto promises it is important they are held to account.

Trust and honesty are vital qualities in our elected representatives. Gordon Ferrie, Corran Cottage, Straiton