Newmarket Journal readers' letters to the editor
The town council, the re-siting of the market and a pat on the back for the day centre . . .
WORKING GROUPS ALLOW PUBLIC TO GET INVOLVED
Just how low can West Suffolk Conservative Association Stoop?
In response to Sara Beckett’s letter regarding the workings of Newmarket Town Council, Newmarket Journal, November 3.
Sara Beckett makes some rather spurious and misleading points as is the way with West Suffolk Conservative Association (WSCA) and its councillors through your paper. She fails to mention that she is a senior officer within West Suffolk Conservative Association. Ask yourself why she has not declared that.
Personally, I think working groups are a great way to invite members of the public to join and help shape the policies of our town council rather just leaving it to debate by councillors alone. What Sara Beckett fails to mention is that each working group has a laid out purpose and reports directly to a committee, which then has the opportunity to discuss, debate, and vote, on any recommendations from the working party.
It is certainly not doing things away from the public eye, behind closed doors as she implies. Far from it, it is allowing more people to actively engage in local politics. Something that is much needed after the Conservative coup at the town hall a few years ago.
I can’t help feeling that is just another of WSCA’s little games that they love to play out in the press to try to destabilise our local council, much like the recent letter from Cllr James Lay regarding using public monies for a nosh up after the Remembrance service against the wishes of the organisers of the event and the Newmarket branch of the Royal British Legion.
By continually playing these games, WSCA, its councillors and officers might think they are doing good but they aren’t fooling anyone.
I asked the question just how low can WSCA stoop at the beginning of my letter, well you just need to look at the shenanigans and goings on in Parliament lately, the actions of our very own MP, and the actions of certain local Conservative councillors over the last few years, to get your answer.
Ian Young, Engelhard Road, Newmarket
EVERYONE LOSES BY MOVING MARKET
Can anybody explain the rationale of moving the market back to the car park?
Everyone is a loser. The market traders have definitely not benefited. We may lose the market completely.
The council has lost the revenue from the parking fees. And people have lost convenient parking spaces.
The shops have lost potential footfall. Who has gained?
Roger Timmins, via email
SHAME THAT STORE STILL SELLS 50P BAGS
It was great to see Waitrose announce it was no longer selling 10p plastic carrier bags but so disappointing to see the store is still selling 50p ones. Just because a bag is more expensive does not mean it will cause any less pollution.
The recent COP26 conference warned us all the clock is ticking as far as efforts to save our planet are concerned. Many of the things we need to do are hard, and some even beyond our control, but surely we are all intelligent enough to take a bag with us when we go shopping so we don’t add to the mountain of plastic already polluting our environment and if we knew that shops no longer provided bagswe would make sure we remember to have one with us.
Elizabeth Peabody, Exning Road, Newmarket
DAY CENTRE STAFF WERE SO KIND TO Us
I would like to think the staff and volunteers at Newmarket Day Centre for the kindness they showed us on our recent visit.
They bent over backwards for us and couldn’t do enough for us.
Special thanks to Elvis McMinn, Laura Evans and Veronica Fixe.
Lilian and Dougie True, Lochside, Dunfries
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