Lydiard concerns

AS I attended the Lydiard Park council meeting I was interested in Michael Benke’s article about how the meeting approved a three-month delay in awarding the contract to run Lydiard house and park, so that a community group, Friends Of Lydiard, could put together a bid.

In fact they announced there will be a four-month period before the result of the bid is announced, which will be safely after the council elections. Let’s face it, privatising Lydiard would be a big vote loser.

I feel I should remind everybody involved in Friends Of Lydiard about the outcome of a community bid to run the Arts Centre in 2013.

The Arts Centre was run by SBC and they decided to privatise the running of it.

After a campaign similar to the Lydiard one, the council agreed to let a community group, Arts Centre For The Community put in a bid. This bid was rejected.

The chairman of Arts Centre For The Community, Alan Wrixon, was reported in the Adver as saying that the application was rejected on unfair grounds.

They had been asked to put forward a document demonstrating their ability to prepare such a bid, which they had put forward.

They were surprised when their bid was rejected for not having content that they had been led to believe was only required at the next stage.

Am I being cynical in predicting a similar ploy would be used again against Friends Of Lydiard?

In what one might imagine to be a Freudian slip,where you blurt out what you really mean instead of what you intend to say, Coun Dale Heenan said he would like to see Lydiard House turned into a hotel.

One final point, why oh why are Friends Of Lydiard having a Conservative councillor on their steering group when all the Tory councillors voted against working with Friends Of Lydiard?

Surely this breaches bid confidentiality?

STEVE THOMPSON Norman Road, Swindon

Town council plea

RE LYDIARD Mansion and surrounding land, This jewel in the crown was purchased by Murray John on behalf of Swindon Borough Council on behalf of the Swindon town ratepayers .

In 1974 the officers of the then borough council were so eager to amalgamate with the then former Highworth District Council to take the population over 100,000 so as they all got a pay rise, The only thing they omitted to do was to form a Swindon Town Council to represent Swindon Town rate payers’ interests.

Now the question is why did they permit Highworth Town Council with is own mayor, and a further 15 parish councils, to stay as they were and keep all their lands and properties out of Swindon Borough Council’s hands.

Since 1974 the value of Swindon town’s assets had reached £1bn.

In the past 15 years they have disposed of more than £500,000 worth of borough assets.

What should happen is that firstly they should move out of the Civic Offices and hand it back to a newly formed Swindon Town Council of between 18 to 24 Swindonians.

The cabinet system is no good because, out of the 10 representatives only one serves what was known as the old borough council.

Lydiard Park, the Steam Museum, the Museum and Art Gallery and Richard Jeffries’ house should all be put under one superintendent answerable to the chief executive with a charge hand in each location.

There are too many people on high executive wages in the establishment.

When it comes to Swindon’s special expenses these are set by a faceless person in the revenue department and all 58 councillors vote for Swindon town rate, there is no elected body that sets Swindon’s precept.

The mayoral position belongs to Swindon Town also the mace and the treasures in the mayoral parlour.

Let us get this vote under way for a town council in this year’s May elections.

DOUGLAS STEWART Former borough councillor Common Platt, Swindon

Get your facts right

THANKS Terry Reynolds, I note you only responded to a one line footnote in my letter of 16/01/2016.

You did not express your views on Lydiard Park, or even the Corn Exchange (the farmers bank) or the Mechanics, why?

Perhaps you prefer a new car park a mile away from the shops and the theatre?

In your reply, you display a lack of awareness of GWR’s industrial history; the GWR wooden carriage works were closed because carriages made of wood were obsolete; a similar reason for the closure of the manufacture of steam locos, the railways moved to diesel or diesel electric.

Harry Roberts, the last Swindon Works Manager, worked very hard to keep the works viable, but without support he was fighting a Government determined to close Swindon GWR.

Why? Remember Tarmac bought the site.

Your last line may be something of a slip-up because during the Second World War the GWR wooden carriage works, in great secrecy, did build submarines; the two-man human torpedoes type.

As you say Terry, get your facts right first.

MIKE SPRY Mayfield Close Nythe, Swindon

Liberty nor safety

IT SHOULD come as no surprise to any of the people of Swindon that the Government is intending to treat Sunday Schools, Scout meetings and youth groups as ‘potential extremists’ by requiring them to register for inspection by Ofsted.

Nor should it be a surprise to read that the head of Ofsted intends to use powers intended to crack down on Moslem madrasses to ‘regulate Christian Sunday Schools.

This despite there being no evidence of extremist teaching (unless you count the story of the Creation as extremist) at any Sunday school.

Mr Cameron has recently said that it is wrong to ‘demonise’ the entire Moslem community for the actions of a few who harbour and practice extreme views.

One can therefore ask why he feels it necessary to include organisations such as referred to on a ‘watch list’ of potential extremists - the suggestion is that it is an attempt to appear even handed and non-prejudicial.

In an incredibly woeful attempt to justify the action, School’s Minister Nick Gibb linked the need to clamp down on extremism with the need to provide sanitary conditions, claiming both are intended to balance out of school education and keep children safe.

In the course of the terrorism debate, the argument is put forward that we all need to sacrifice some liberty in order to assure our safety, that liberty and safety are in equipoise, and when they clash, it is the Government that should balance one against the other and decide which shall prevail.

This is, of course, an argument the Government loves, as it presupposes that the Government has the moral, legal and constitutional power to make this accord.

It is an argument which gains traction whenever an event occurs which causes the populace to become alarmed and it used to the full by the political elite - as it always has been.

Despotic emperors and tribal chieftains, English kings and French revolutionaries have joined 20th-century dictators in asserting that their first job is to keep us safe.

And, in doing so, they are somehow entitled to take away our liberties, whether it be the speech they hate and fear or the privacy they like to invade.

All of the powers the Government possesses it has received from us, from our personal repositories of freedom.

In the United Kingdom free people voluntarily permit the Government to exercise the limited power needed to protect freedom. That is known as “the consent of the governed.”

Giving up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserves neither liberty nor safety.

DES MORGAN Caraway Drive, Swindon

I was not dreaming

I WAS very interested in Eve Buckland’s story of paranormal activity in the Lawn Woods.

I can remember walking my dog one autumn evening several years ago when I experienced a cloud of white smoke coming out of the ground by the top of the Lawns at the entrance into Old Town.

I was completely spooked by what I had seen and was so shocked that I mentioned it to several people who were also walking dogs. However, no-one else had seen it.

It was an experience that has come back into my mind since reading this story.

I am quite pleased that it has been reported as at least I know I was not dreaming.

CLIVE ALEXANDER Aldbourne

Chaos is depressing

I WILL be honest, the daily headlines regarding the anarchy and chaos in Calais are depressing.

The daily reports on the sexual abuse of the fairest sex, who gave us all birth. The participants involved, crossing Europe with their vile sexual misbehaviour.

We all must know to whom I am referring to in a polite manner.

My point, why is there nothing being done by the so-called political elite to put a stop forthwith to this disgraceful threat to our cherished mothers, wives, daughters and female partners.

I will make a clear and decisive statement as a married man of 53 years experience. I have never met any male, including me, no matter how chauvinistic they may appear to be, who does not know and accept the contribution of their good lady and her efforts as a companion, and in many cases giving birth as a mother. Who, in her own quiet way, really runs the show.

Or have I been missing something?

BILL WILLIAMS Merlin Way Covingham, Swindon

Thanks to workers

I WOULD just like to say thank you to the wonderful workers who keep the Town Gardens looking absolutely lovely.

The clearing up after this winter has been quite a job and now with the clearing up of leaves once again it is a credit to the gardeners.

My dog Bertie loves it there and so do we all - roll on summer.

RON FULLWOOD Quarry Road Swindon