Leader | Comment | Homepage - Darlington and Stockton Times

Cause devalued

11:29am Friday 12th March 2010

POURING a glass of beer over your MP’s head might seem, to some, a clever thing to do. After all, MPs are held in such low esteem after the expenses row, they are fair game, aren’t they?

Expansion on hold

10:45am Friday 5th March 2010

THE case for extending the boundaries of the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District National Parks to encompass landscapes like the northern Howgill and Orton Fells appears, simply on the basis of the quality of those uplands, to be strong. Who can deny that the Howgills are at least as beautiful as the neighbouring areas that fall within the park boundaries. So it follows that they should enjoy the protection of similar quality landscapes.

Curlew grounded

11:16am Friday 26th February 2010

WE can’t imagine many Richmondshire taxpayers will lament the passing of The Curlew, the council’s twice-yearly newspaper. With local authorities generally facing the economic squeeze already experienced by the private sector, all areas of council service are being scrutinised and The Curlew is an easy sacrifice.

Same problems

12:21pm Friday 19th February 2010

JUDY Bell and her husband, Nigel, are universally respected for the hard work, dedication and no little flair with which they have turned their family farm between Thirsk and Northallerton into one of the country’s leading artisan cheese producers.

Regional aid

11:55am Friday 12th February 2010

SIGNS that the Conservatives may be changing their attitudes towards the regional economic development agencies are welcome in more ways than one. Apart from demonstrating the party is not in an ideological straitjacket about how regional development should be best achieved, the change of heart indicated by the Shadow Business Secretary Kenneth Clarke, suggests that the importance of One NorthEast and Yorkshire Forward to their respective regions has been understood.

Grand derailment

11:22am Friday 5th February 2010

WE can only say more power to Grand Central Railway’s elbow as it seeks to challenge the Government’s apparent fait accompli announcement of a new timetable for the main line to London.

In praise of wool

11:12am Friday 29th January 2010

THE site of Masham auction mart was placed on the market this week. It is likely to be sold for housing – a sad end for a mart once considered one of the best in Yorkshire for sheep sales.

Chiefs and Indians

10:59am Friday 22nd January 2010

THE shared services initiative being pursued by Hambleton and Richmondshire councils is to be welcomed in that it appears to be producing savings without affecting service levels. Local authorities are often accused of having too many Chiefs and not enough Indians, but it’s certainly not an accusation that can be levelled here.

Battling on

10:55am Friday 15th January 2010

THE problems faced by four of North Yorkshire County Council’s gritting lorries this week brought home the hazardous nature of the tasks faced by many public servants during the bad weather.

Chilly perspective

10:55am Friday 8th January 2010

LOCAL authorities have come in for a great deal of criticism this week. As the snow has fallen and the ice has formed, thousands of miles of roads and paths have become a lottery, especially so for the elderly and infirm.

More Leader»