'What is really needed is for local authorities to grow up' - Your Letters: March 17

The leading article and adjoining Comment on fly-tipping read like something straight out of John Cleese's "Department of the Bleedin' Obvious". Of course the spectacular own goal of Shropshire and now Powys councils' obstacles to the free use of household waste centres can only exacerbate the problem - how could it possibly be otherwise.

On moving house recently, being a dutiful citizen I duly made 40-mile round trips to recycle redundant packing boxes and sundry detritus, despite there being two much closer recycling centres but in adjoining counties. Not everyone I am sure would have bothered. I am surprised (though perhaps I shouldn't be) that the stuffed shirt your piece quotes from the "Local Government Association" doesn't seem to join the dots to recognise that it is the very bodies he claims to speak for that are the root cause of the problems.

What is really needed is for local authorities to grow up and - instead of endlessly pontificating on the evils of fly-tipping while through their own actions encouraging it - adopting the principle of "swings and roundabouts" by opening up their tips to all. Hopes were raised when Powys Council announced a new draft five-year plan for waste and recycling, with Cabinet member Councillor Pete Roberts pushing for talks with neighbouring councils to find a sensible solution to the ludicrous anti-residents policies. Should we hold our collective breath, I wonder?

Dr Robert Hyde, Knighton

BIG CONCERNS ON RELIEF ROAD PLAN

As a Shropshire resident I am more than a little concerned about what is going on in relation to the North West Relief Road that is proposed by Shropshire Council for Shrewsbury (NWRR).

No doubt the proposed road would bring some benefits to some Shrewsbury residents – but at what cost to all of Shropshire’s residents?

It has been estimated that every Shropshire resident will end up paying £650 for about four miles of road in Shrewsbury.

This at a time when the council is slashing services elsewhere throughout the county and is making staff redundant, while increasing council tax.

The council has just about staved off the prospect of bankruptcy, with help from the government.

But it seems that this scheme is some sort of holy grail that the rest of us will have to pay for. Particularly worrying is that the Audit committee at Shropshire Council (whose job is to scrutinise schemes such as this) were told on February 6 that it was not known when the report into the NWRR would be published.

It then suddenly magically became available part of the way through the final meeting of the council on February 27, when it was too late to scrutinise it.      

George Adamson, Church Stretton

POOR MISTAKE ON THE CHASE

As everybody should know on mainstream television programmes it’s dire, nothing but repeats and so-called celebrities on quiz channels - tosh.

We have Sky channels with history, animals, wildlife etc, and war films which I like to see, especially on true events.

A few weeks ago I went onto The Chase channel, there was a lady on studying history at phd level on her specialist subject women liberation issues from about 1799 to about 1915.

A question came up about Emmeline Pankhurst who founded women’s political union, the lady in question had one about the date it was founded. As anyone who watches the chase you have a three choices, she was given three dates; she missed the correct date by 40 years, the right answer was 1903.

If you are studying at phd level how can you get it wrong? Her answer was I’m not good on history dates. Give me strength, she is a so-called historian!

Ron Goodall, West Midlands

ITALIAN JOB CAN'T WORK IN ENGLAND

Watching The Italian Job (1969) I noticed the amount of Fiats in Turin (where they make them): An 850, 124 and 128 and numerous lovely little 500/600s. You could not remake this as ‘The English Job'. 

Where would we find so many British cars in a city centre?

Robert William White, West Midlands

TRUMP GETTING ON WITH HIS TASK

When you look at the optimism in the United States now that President Donald Trump is getting on with the job he promised to do, we wish that just such a leader was in charge of Britain, where almost everyone is pessimistic about their future prospects.

W F Kerswell, Picklescott

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