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23
Jul 2023
Last Updated: 21/07/2023
Stray Views: Role of Mayor is bureaucracy "gone mad"
Letters
Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.
Can anyone tell me how any individual whatever political persuasion elected to this office can manage, in their day to day work, all the duties it entails? Highways, Education, Housing, and Police Fire and Crime Commissioner!
The announcement is that the Conservative candidate is also Executive Councillor for Highways, representative for Norton, and Deputy Editor for the Daily Star! All presumably at some fantastic rate of pay. It is bureaucracy gone mad.
Will he resign his position as Norton representative or does that exclude him from becoming Mayoral candidate? It is a complete mystery to me as how local government has gone to such a multi layered institution costing us all much more money and not really seeing results.
We need transparency of what they propose and what they actually achieve, not just a bunch of statistics which, let's face it, anyone can manipulate.
Best of luck to whoever is finally elected, they will need it.
Sandra Theoblad, Ripon
Unimpressed with Yorkshire Agricultural Society
I would like to echo the comments of other local dog owners concerning the current fencing off of land by the YAS next to the showground. Having walked our dog twice daily through the fields, this is a huge disappointment and loss.
The YAS chairman talks of providing “kilometres of permissive paths” when the reality is a very short section from Hookstone Wood to the car park by the top showground gate.
There was no consultation or advance notification at all and it is a great shame to see the approach taken by YAS, which is particularly inconsiderate to local residents who put up with traffic chaos when big events are held.
Thoroughly unimpressed.
Catriona Cooke, Harrogate
Read More:
- Conservatives select highways councillor Keane Duncan to stand for North Yorkshire mayor
- Harrogate dog-walkers shocked by new barbed-wire fencing at showground
Thank you for the music
What a feast of music we were treated to last Friday night.
Harrogate Theatre hosted the premiere performance by Mike Lovatt's Brass Pack and a host of pieces made famous by Frank Sinatra.
Many of the charts had been given a new, scintillating arrangement by Colin Skinner, with instrumentals from an outstanding group of musicians, plus vocals from the peerless Matt Forde.
Thank you, Harrogate International Festival, for another world class event.
Barbara & Martin Coultas, and Pat Kerr, Harrogate
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