READERS' VIEWS 19/2

19 February 2009

Village store has a future

I WRITE in response to rumours circulating around Ryton-on-Dunsmore that the Heart of England Co-operative Society Lateshop, which has served the community for many years, may pull out of the village.
These rumours appear to have come about following two armed robberies at the store in December and January, but I would like to re-affirm our commitment to the residents of Ryton.
As the largest independent retailer in Coventry, Warwickshire and south Leicestershire, with more than 50 locations across the area and 33 Lateshops and Foodcentres, villages and rural locations such as Ryton are our lifeblood and indeed epitomise the whole ethos of the Society serving the heart of the community.
We appreciate incidents such as these are extremely distressing not only to our staff and customers, but to the community as a whole. However we wish to reassure the people of Ryton-on-Dunsmore we are doing everything in our power to protect them against robberies and other such incidents.
We work closely with the police to see how we can improve security at all our stores and our measures are under constant internal review. In light of these incidents in Ryton-on-Dunsmore we have liaised with the police and our security providers to see what further improvements we can make.
Once again we would like to reassure our customers their safety and their confidence in our security measures is of paramount importance to us. We will continue to pull out all the stops to ensure we offer the best protection we can to our staff and customers at all times and that we intend to continue trade from the site for many more years to come.
Ali Kurji, Chief Executive, Heart of England Co-operative Society

Rail link the best alternative

I AM writing in to respond to the article by Jeremy Wright MP - Observer, January 5 - and would like to take the opportunity to clarify some facts concerning Heathrow’s future growth.
Since the Government launched its consultation on expanding Heathrow, some have argued that a third runway could be avoided altogether by replacing short-haul flights with high-speed rail.
BAA supports a high-speed rail network because it would be great for Britain and for Heathrow. However the argument that a high speed rail line would avoid the need for a third runway is a red herring.
Even if all UK domestic passengers could switch to rail today then the 10 per cent of capacity theoretically freed up would be filled by other demand not currently being met. But in fact such a network does not exist and will take decades to deliver.
Other countries are investing in high-speed rail and new airport capacity and we should do the same. High-speed rail could link Heathrow to the rest of the UK but only a third runway link Britain to the rest of the world.
BAA believes this country needs both a third runway at Heathrow and high speed rail. To prioritise one over the other is a false choice and will put Britain's future competitiveness at risk.
BAA understands the importance of ensuring there is improved public transport access to the airport and has already taken steps to reduce the number of airport related traffic on surrounding roads. Future developments could include rail schemes such as Airtrack to link Heathrow to the West and Crossrail.
The Government has clearly stated a third runway will not go ahead unless strict environmental limits are met: no more noise overall than in 2002, air quality better than it is today, and unless there are improvements to public transport. To help assure the public that these environmental limits will be adhered to, the Government has appointed the CAA and the Environment Agency to have independent oversight of the limits on noise and air quality respectively. If for any reason the limits are not being met, both organisations will have statutory powers to limit the number of flights on a third runway.
BAA is aware that the decision to expand Heathrow Airport has been a very difficult issue, particularly for residents who will be directly affected. We intend to work closely with the local community as the planning process proceeds and provide as much information and support as possible.
Damon Hunt, Group Head of Media, BAA

Housing scheme is a great idea

I HAVE a house that is standing empty in Rugby, in fact it is on the market, but I would be more than happy to consider this scheme to reduce the housing waiting list - Observer last week.
E Owen, Via email

Shop plan is flawed

I SHOULD like to correct some inaccuracies and distortions in the article concerning Pailton Village Shop - Observer, February 5.
The parish council’s proposal to re-open the shop is contentious, and it is important that the debate is carried out on the basis of true facts. There is significant opposition within the village on two grounds; firstly that there is a serious risk of burdening the village with debt, and secondly that the present owners are being treated unfairly.
The specific points at issue are that no serious attempt has been made to show the on-going financial and managerial viability of the proposal. There is no funding in place to support the fitting-out and start-up costs of the shop. The village has no money of its own for this purpose, although a small grant has been received to cover the cost of valuation surveys of the existing shop building.
In the event of the shop failing, there is no guarantee that the parish council could re-sell the building. No private offers have been made for it in the past 14 months as a commercial property, and change-of-use to domestic premises would be required to recoup the money. In the meantime, the loan repayments would require the parish council’s Council Tax to approximately double.
The building is also the family home of the current owners. The offer made to them by the parish council is substantially less than their investment, and to accept it would cause them significant financial problems in finding alternative housing.
The parish council may not currently have the legal power to buy the building for this purpose. The legal advice received so far is unclear. I do not understand how any formal offer can therefore be made until this is sorted out. The quote attributed to Mr Gillias implies that the existing owners want change-of-use in order to sell the building. I believe he has been misquoted, as he knows that they do not want to sell, and would like to remain as part of our village community.
Most, or all, of the objectors would like a shop somewhere in the village, and many would actively support a fully developed and financially sound project. Unfortunately the parish council’s proposal, at the moment, is neither of these.
Mike Hansford, Lutterworth Road, Pailton

College will have many benefits

RE: Cash Could Have Been Better Spent - Observer letters, February 5. This month we begin building the new campus for Warwickshire College in Rugby. The government, the local authority Rugby Borough Council, the college, Advantage West Midlands and local employers have committed to bringing a world-class educational facility to Rugby.
Your correspondent is under the impression that all Rugby will get is ‘a hair and beauty salon’. Yes, there will be a salon, manned by our award-winning students proudly offering their services to the public.
What’s more, there will be a library, conference and business facilities; performance, music and dance facilities; state of the art health, sports and fitness facilities – all open to the people of Rugby as well as our student community. Of course we will be continuing the proud tradition of Rugby on skills generation for the engineering and construction industries.
Above all, the new campus will be a place for young people and adults to learn, a place to which Rugby and international students will aspire. Part of our educational offering is the Power Academy, a facility created to train technicians for today’s and tomorrow’s power industry, with a focus on turbines and carbon friendly power generation.
Warwickshire College’s new Rugby campus is at the heart of economic development for the Rugby of the future. It is building on Rugby’s long history of involvement in the power generation industry, and we are excited to know that we will be filling a skills gap created by the need for more people trained to run the new generation of power stations – trained, of course, in a new building that will make the most of sustainable technologies in its construction and use.
This is an investment by and for the people of Rugby, in the future of their town. When companies invest in an area the first question is now: "Where will our skills come from to drive our company forward?" The college is the answer.
Warwickshire College can prove it puts about £125million into the Warwickshire economy each year, and returns about £7 to taxpayers for each £1 they invest – looks a good investment when you look around the high street.
Over the coming months, we will work to keep everyone abreast of progress and we hope that your correspondent will be one of the first to join us when we open our doors in September 2010.
Ioan Morgan CBE, Principal, Warwickshire College

Toys were appreciated

THE Volunteer Centre would like to thank all the residents and organisations of Rugby for their very generous donations of toys for the 2008 Toy Appeal.
We are pleased to inform you that over 200 children benefited from your donations and hopefully had a very happy Christmas because of this. All children and families were referred to us by statutory and volunteer organisations, and the gratitude expressed by them was overwhelming.
Thanks also go to the fantastic team of volunteers who helped distribute the toys to the families. Your help was greatly appreciated.
Wishing you all a very happy and prosperous 2009.
Karen Handcock, Rugby Volunteer Centre Manager

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