Task Force chair is correct
Dear Editor,
I thought Craig Smith’s views in last week’s East Kilbride News were spot on (Bombshell for the town, May 30).
In light of Marks and Spencer’s proposal to close the store in East Kilbride town centre, Mr Smith, who is chair of the town’s task force, admits a whole new strategy is needed for the future. He is right.
For too long the closures of shops and the shopping habits of customers have been ignored. Now it is time for retail bosses, town centre directors, governments at all levels and politicians to wake up and smell the coffee!
This is a vitally important issue and work on a future plan needs to start now, not when even more buildings are lying empty.
Could East Kilbride perhaps become a place for small start-ups and independent enterprises rather than ‘big names’ who like out-of-town locations, big-city presences and dominate online?
The town’s location in the central belt would surely prove attractive although shop rates must be competitive and what of parking charges?
I hope ideas like this are explored and considered.
Name and address supplied
What an absolute waste! Dear Editor,
I recently ordered a supply of food waste bags from South Lanarkshire Council online.
I was then asked to fill in a survey asking about age, gender, sexual orientation, religion and ethnic origin.
Why does the council need to know this? I just want to put my food waste in the bags, not have a relationship with them. There will be staff employed to compile statistics about this and come up with a report. What good will this do?
If it’s found that 25-year-old transgender Buddhists recycle more than 55-year-old heterosexual Christian women, so what?
Everyone gets the same allocation of at most 150 bags a year anyway.
What a waste of everyone’s time.
Dorothy Connor, via email
Blood pressure survey Dear Editor,
Are you living with high blood pressure, also known as hypertension or do you care for someone who is?
If so, the cross-party group (CPG) on heart disease and stroke in the Scottish Parliament wants to hear from you.
The CPG is holding an inquiry into the prevention, detection, treatment and management of high blood pressure in Scotland.
The inquiry will gather information from people living with high blood pressure, those who care for someone with the condition and clinicians and organisations with an interest in high blood pressure services.
You can share your views through answering the questions in the survey at bhf.org.uk/hbpinquiry
Kyle Strachan, British Heart Foundation Scotland
Good luck to new boss Dear Editor,
I’m looking forward to seeing East Kilbride FC in action next season now that there is a new manager in Brian Kerr.
He will obviously have been disappointed last season to be relegated to League Two with Albion Rovers and it’s not the way he would have wanted to start his managerial career.
However, I think Kilby can benefit from this as he will be determined to bounce back. Good luck Brian.
Kilby fan, via email