They need to cut tree danger
I AM a pensioner aged 73.
The purpose of this letter is to draw attention to the problems of the trees which border Denehurst Park and the rear of the bungalows on Denehurst Road.
I have contacted Rochdale Boroughwide Housing about this issue as some of the trees are dangerously overgrown and need cutting back as some of the branches are now touching the roofs of the bungalows.
At the rear of 88 Denehurst Road on of the trees is leaning at a 45 degree angle.
I did have a conversation with someone from RBH and he said he had ticketed the trees to be cut back as he agreed with me that they were dangerous and due to the unpredictable nature of the weather this could cause problems should we suffer severe conditions in the winter. Mr G Hargreaves Denehurst Road
WE MUST SEE ALL PAPERS
WHILST I welcome the recent statement by Linda Fisher that, ‘Rochdale council is totally committed to a thorough and transparent review’, into what happened at Knowl View I believe that translating that into reality will prove difficult unless the council is also committed to placing all the ancillary documentation in the public domain.
Such ancillary documentation would include reports made to council officers by third parties, reports by council officers and details of who these documents were circulated to and when.
In addition to forestalling further claims of a continuing cover-up, placing these documents in the public domain would prevent individuals ‘cherry picking’ statements to fit their narrative.
Confidentiality should not be used as a reason to withhold documents. Whilst it may have been a good reason for restricting distribution at the time these documents were written it is no longer valid more than 20 years later.
Nor is it just a matter of examining the behaviour of council officials.
What is clear even from the cautious, highly professional, though heavily redacted 1991 report by Rochdale Aids Unit, is that staff had an awareness of a high level of sexual activity amongst the boys. It is reasonable to assume that this was also known to the senior management of the school.
The question then arises whether this information was communicated to the Education department and/or to school governors.
If governors were aware of this was it discussed at their meetings and hence would have been minuted? Such minutes would be essentially public documents and open to all.
I have previously challenged Mr Danczuk to state how many men who claimed to have been abused by Cyril Smith after the closure of Cambridge House he interviewed before writing his recent book and to publish the transcripts.
After the recent ‘File on Four’ programme the importance of making a proper record of interviews should now be apparent.
The account given by Mr Digan on the programme and repeated by Jane Deith on the BBC News website of his discovery at Knowl View of a sexual assault which he attributed to Harry Wild, differs substantially from the account of the same incident given on page 111 of Mr Danczuk’s book.
Clearly both accounts cannot be true. Les May Crescent Road
NEXT TIME GIVE US ALL A VOTE
I HAVE always had an admiration for the Scots or anything Scottish - going as far as supporting a small Scottish league football team for almost 40 years.
Therefore I found the recent referedum both fascinating and nerve wracking.
Thankfully the ‘No’ campaign won the all important vote preventing Alex Salmond and co from destroying the United Kingdom and saving us the problem of designing a new flag, a new anthem, relocating our nuclear submarines and helping to bail out an independent Scotland when they find themselves in financial ruin in a few years.
As far as politicians go, Alex Salmond must go down as the most devious, smug and clueless political leader ever.
But in the meantime Scotland remains in the United Kingdom, but I would suggest the next time they have a referendum it includes the people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland as well.
Failing that I’m sure a lot of people would welcome a vote of whether or not we wish to remain in the EEC.
That is one union we could all do without. Gary Barlow Address supplied
IT’S TIME FOR LORDS REFORM
TIME for the Labour Party to honour its manifesto commitmment for reform of the House of Lords.
I have just taken part in Unlock Democracy’s online e|action on Reform of the House of Lords and written to Leader of the Labour Party Ed Miliband.
Could I take this opportunity to ask other Rochdale Observer readers who think the outdated House of Lords is incompatible with a healthy 21st Century democracy to do likewise at : http:// unlockdemocracy.org.uk/ pages/1517
The full text of the e|action to Ed Miliband reads: “I am writing regarding your promise to reform the House of Lords. It is not long now till the general election next year. I welcome the commitment to democratic reform of the House of Lords in the Better Politics policy consultation paper. As you start work on writing your manifesto, I want to urge you to include a specific commitment to a directly elected second chamber.
“Like many people who believe in democratic reform, I was disappointed that the government were not able to follow through on Lords reform. I would like to thank you for your support for Lords reform despite your misgivings about the government’s proposals. Labour has led the way on Lords reform and too much is at stake for reform to be scuppered by party wrangling. You are right to say that it is important that “all our democratic structures, including the House of Lords, remain fit for purpose for the needs of today’s society.” So let’s finish the job that Labour started back in 1999. The continued existence of an unelected second chamber stuffed with inherited privilege and party donors is a stain on our democracy. We need a second chamber that is truly representative and accountable to the electorate. It is the public, not party leaders, who should decide who is fit to write our laws.
“I am calling on you to commit to replacing the House of Lords in the next parliament with a chamber comprising at least 80% of members elected using a proportional voting system. Public support for an elected upper chamber is overwhelming. While a referendum would bolster the case for reform, it should not be an excuse for politicians to delay or avoid making decisions on the makeup of any future elected house.
Please make the manifesto commitment to Lords reform and help us build a democracy fit for the 21st century.” Andrew Wastling Drake Street
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