Climate Act lunacy

Martin Ephson commends the Council for seeking to make the county carbon neutral by 2030.

What an impossible dream and a totally pointless one at that. Perhaps those who advocate such a policy would like to come up with proof that our emissions of carbon dioxide, a benign trace gas in the atmosphere essential for all life on Earth, is actually drastically affecting the world’s climate. And don’t let's rely on predictions because every one so far has proved to be wrong such as the Arctic being free of summer ice.

We have another one today - “three quarters of the world face deadly heat by the end of the century.” What utter tosh! However, there is one which is gaining ground to be believable which is that the Earth is cooling due to low and erratic solar activity. Working down to council level, if it is going to be fixated on this policy, then man hours will be wasted on it let alone the costs when there must be far more urgent services to attend to. So, from my point of view, evidence that the council is prevaricating on implementing the climate strategy is good news.

All councillors should reflect on their decision to agreeing to declare that there is a climate emergency. They have surrendered to accepting the UN’s Agendas 2021 and 2030 on sustainable development while not doing sufficient research. Or are we going to see even greater areas of the county being smothered by solar farms? Is everybody looking forward to having their gas boilers ripped out in favour of electric heat pumps? This net zero policy is shear lunacy.

The best thing that could happen is for the Climate Change Act, on which all this hinges, to be repealed forthwith. We might all then be able to return to sanity - and live more frugally if you like.

Rowland Pantling

Broomcroft Road

Pewsey

Open our homes to refugees

An open letter to Danny Kruger: Do you have any Ukrainians living in your constituency?

I ask because we would like to be considered as a household that would welcome a refugee family to stay with us. It would be good to find people who speak the Ukrainian language.

We are ashamed that the UK government is dragging its feet in opening our borders to take in people who are fleeing the Russian invasion. I know we are not a frontline country but we must surely share the burden of hosting refugees with our European neighbours.

Why have we not simply copied the European Union in giving free access for three years without need for asylum bureaucracy to refugees that wish to shelter in Britain?

Is the Home Office coordinating offers to host Ukrainian families? The new Premier Inn in Marlborough could surely be used by the government as an initial Reception Centre for Refugees coming into this area. Would you be able to coordinate arrangements with local schools to receive Ukrainian children, and our health services to be made available as necessary?

It seems unfair that European countries poorer than ours are already facing these sorts of calls on their resources.

Bill Yates

By email

Relief road plan a done deal?

Wiltshire Council has already purchased land at Lackham College to build the so called relief road and now when you look at the new 10 year Business Plan just approved they state they intend to build it.

Interestingly it is not listed as an aim, but I quote page 27 “Over the course of this Business Plan we shall implement the future Chippenham master plan of development and distributor road delivery.”

Despite Mr Clewer's assurances that this scheme is dependent on the Local Plan Review it is clear Wiltshire Council are taking the population of Chippenham for a ride. Mr Clewer admitted at a recent Cabinet meeting that Chippenham was already the largest urban area in the County and that the facilities were lacking, so why thousands more homes without the facilities?

It's no wonder residents are having to use the Courts to fight this ill thought out proposal. The only thing Wiltshire Council are interested in is the profits from the sale of County farms and not the residents of the area despite what is portrayed in the glossy, Business Plan and Future Chippenham literature produced at our expense.

Despite assurances at Cabinet on February 1 that correspondence would be answered within time frames they have failed to respond to numerous letters from the public. Why?

Nick Parry

Pewsham

Chippenham

Railway heroes

I would be very pleased if you could mention my gratitude to all the railway staff - driver and train crew - but especially the staff at Chippenham railway who all performed so brilliantly last Friday.

I had booked into a hotel on Thursday night, intending to spend Thursday and Friday in the National Archives at Kew, but when I realised the full extent of the situation, I left my hotel at 6.15am on Friday and set off for home.

All the railway staff I encountered went out of their way to make sure that their customers reached their destinations, or - where the station or lines were closed - got as near to home as possible. The driver kept to half-speed, ensuring that we all arrived safely.

It was the staff at Chippenham that impressed me - dispensing help, updates and reassurance - often, while standing on a platform in gusting winds. They even arranged with a taxi driver to take me to Melksham as the train (and all the buses) were cancelled, so I could get nearer to my home at Devizes. I was never to so pleased to get home. My husband joins me in thanking all the train crews and staff.

Sue Roderick

Devizes

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