Published at 15:35, Wednesday, 09 December 2009

SIR – Below follows text of a letter I have sent to Copeland Borough Council and Copeland Homes.SIR – Dear Scrooge, I would just like to express my thanks for the wonderful Christmas tree you have dumped in our market place.SIR – Yet again the seasonal disruption is upon us because so called planners decide to progress work on the Civic Hall at the busiest time of year, which consequentially has traffic backing up to the top of Inkerman Terrace and beyond. SIR – I find it difficult to reconcile the position of the Chief Constable of Cumbria Police with the importance of the post he holds, when he is pictured cavorting about with some junior officers, all behaving like some third-rate Christmas pantomime artistes.

what a mess: Some of the rubbish which has been left at the bottom of Newtown estate in Frizington

I write with dismay at the state of the rubbish being left by contractors at the bottom of Newtown estate in Frizington.

Since May there have been four isocontainers and one skip situated within 10m of my property at the bottom of Newtown estate. These were placed there in order to provide a point for storage of new kitchen units and a waste collection point for dismantled kitchens. They were originally placed to the rear of Coronation Drive, near to the Copeland Homes contractor (White Building Services) office, until they were moved, due to them being located on land owned by Barrat Homes.

Since May I have been subjected to contractor vans arriving at 7am for loading activities, blocking access to a row of residents’ garages, and generally destroying the grassed areas around the housing. Skip vehicles have churned up grass verges, leaving pools of water and tyre tracks.

The work that was being done on houses in the Newtown estate was completed many months ago, and yet it seems that this is the area where all contractors can come to collect their goods and deposit rubbish.

Since last week there has been a growing pile of rubbish directly outside my house, as the pictures show.

There have been several calls made to Copeland Homes in the intervening period asking for rubbish to be put in the skip and for the skip to be secured, as children are playing on and in the skip, even when the contractors are there!

I request the following:

1. That the four containers and the skip are moved immediately, as they no longer serve a purpose to residents of the Newtown estate.

2. The rubbish is professionally collected and disposed of.

3. The damaged grass verges are repaired and returned to their original state, which includes filling in the holes made by the skips being repeatedly changed.

4. That any future desire to locate such containers involves some degree of consultation with residents.

I also ask The Whitehaven News to visit the site and take some photographs.

Phil ROBINSON

Newtown, Frizington

I understand why you have left it as bare as Badger’s “whotsit”, it’s because our ever benevolent parish council are going to dress it and put up some beautiful Christmas lights all along the Main Street (to replace those that I witnessed some nasty men stealing earlier in the year).

Rumour had it that they were council workers but we proud Egremontonians know that our council has pride in our town and would not stoop so low as to leave our town as the only one around the area without any festive spirit when we wish to show the much-needed visitors to our ‘Historic Market Town’ how welcoming a place it really is.

So I would just like to say to our parish councillors, merry Christmas again and thanks for showing your usual festive spirit.

B CAINE

Nelson Square, Egremont

Yet again the so-called Christmas lights are on, on Lowther Street and have been for a week.

Yet again the original date for completion of the work, ie December 15, will not be met.

Yet again, no free parking in Whitehaven. Contrast that with Workington, who despite recent major setbacks, have a brightly lit town, with all the refurbishment in the main streets completed weeks ago, and free parking for shoppers.

One really has to feel sorry for the shop owners in Whitehaven, who are left to the decisions of others.

Name and address supplied

Well-intentioned it may be but naive and ill-timed, when matters of greater urgency are pressing the police.

Brian PARNABY

Ullock

Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk