June 2008

Letters

A graceful exit

Dear Editor,
May I, through your publication, thank all those people in the Southwold and Reydon Ward who voted for me at the Waveney District Council election on 1st May. Also thank you to those individuals who contacted me and provided encouraging words and support.

As two years ago, it was a very close-run election with only 48 votes in it.

I have come to the conclusion that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to beat the very strong core Conservative vote in this particular ward and, as such, I have regrettably decided, after standing as an independent on three separate occasions, that I will not be standing again as an independent candidate in any future District Council elections.

It is a shame that politics often appears to dominate these local elections, but I feel proud to have challenged this on three occasions, winning once and losing by small margins at the other two. Consequently, I feel I must now admit defeat and withdraw gracefully.

It is also disappointing that independent candidates do not get any financial support, unlike the political groups, as we have to pay personally for the pleasure of standing.

Finally, I wish Sue Allen all the very best as she is a very good and hard-working councillor for this ward, and I am certain she will represent us all to the very best of her ability.
Michael Ladd, Southwold

Easton Bavents revisited

Dear Editor,
With regard to the letter in your May issue regarding spoil dumped at Easton Bavents beach – I totally agree that this should be cleaned up by the people responsible for dumping this in the first place. Doesn’t this amount to glorified ‘fly-tipping’?
In the future, I do hope that planning permission for any such action as this be obtained first, and the spoil is just earth and not scrap metal, sinks, plastics and concrete etc, which can be washed up again and again on our beaches.
We must remember we are in a beautiful part of the country and this must be protected.
B Boucher, Southwold

‘This is not symbolic of the “greenest county” that Suffolk is aiming to become’

Dear Editor,
A planning application (C/08/0652) has been put in to Suffolk Coastal District Council by a company called Hillfairs to open an intensive chicken farm with 340,000 birds at the old Thorington gravel pit, about eight miles from Southwold, close to Minsmere bird reserve.

From my family’s perspective and that of others in the vicinity, this is not going to be pleasant – our home is three fields to the northeast of the site, as are various others – so we could be affected by noise and smell; not to mention possible health risks, as seen recently in Holton at Bernard Matthews.

More importantly, we thoroughly object to new proposals for this style of farming at a time when, surely, the industry is moving away from it. This is not symbolic of the ‘greenest county’ that Suffolk is aiming to become (www.Greensuffolk.org).

To object, please e-mail d.c.admin@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk, including the application number, your name, address, comment and reason for interest. Further details can be found on www.thoringtonchickens.co.uk.

Only one household received official notification, so your input is not just advantageous – it’s essential. Could you also forward this to anyone you know who may be interested?
Erika Clegg, Southwold

Your comments here