Short-sighted

I WRITE in response to the letter from VJ Connor of Bishop Auckland (D&ST, Aug 14), in which reference is made to the lack of seating in Leyburn.

With no less than 12 bench seats in the town centre, let alone the additional benches on the Shawl and all the entrance roads to and from the town, Mr Connor is clearly mistaken.

There is also an excellent optician in the town – he might well benefit from a visit in the future.

Andrew Waites, Leyburn

Counting seats

VJ CONNOR of Bishop Auckland complains that there is not one seat in Leyburn (D&ST, Aug 14). I suggest he visits Specsavers and gets his eyes tested.

There are at least four public seats in the town centre, plus six of the cafes and pubs have outdoor seating for customers. There are other public seats further afield.

As for the parking at the top of Brentwood, when vehicles are parked on both sides of the road reducing a carriageway wide enough for three vehicles to single file use, then the offending drivers should be prosecuted for causing an "unnecessary obstruction". They would have been many years ago. Had this problem occurred in either Northallerton or Richmond then the council would have done something about it.

Terry Jowle, Leyburn

Lovely Leyburn

VJ CONNOR of Bishop Auckland is critical of the Dales Festival of Food and Drink and goes on to make unjustifiable criticism of Leyburn (D&ST, Aug 14).

The Dales Festival of Food and Drink has been a high overhead event because it offered much more than most of the food festivals that have sprung up since it began. An entry charge has therefore been necessary for financial viability. Car parking, the extensive programme of cookery demonstrations and entry to under 16s have always been free as have six hours of live music each day, highly entertaining speakers like Gervase Phinn and much more.

From shortly after it began in 2002 – conceived to help the area recover from foot and mouth disease – the festival has run without public subsidy and contributed some £200,000 to charitable causes. The formula worked magnificently for 13 years but it was evident that another festival on the same lines was a financial risk we could not take. It is possible that a new format festival could yet be organised but nothing is yet decided.

Mr Connor's curious criticism of Leyburn that "there is not one seat in the town" is just plain wrong. In the war memorial area of Leyburn Market Place there are no less than eight long seats capable of accommodating 30 or more people.

Leyburn has a remarkable shopping centre for a small market town with several high quality independant shops and a wide selection of pubs, restaurants and cafes. Leyburn thrives because it is a welcoming and bright town, in contrast to Mr Connor's characterisation.

Gerald Hodgson, Spennithorne, Leyburn

On the bench

HAVING read VJ Connor's complaint (D&ST, Aug 14) that there are no seats in Leyburn, I walked round the town and counted them. There are currently nine traditional wooden benches and a double length metal bench in the town square and also several metal seats in the town shelter.

There will soon be a new, modern bench by the bike racks as well.

Maybe your correspondent could come back to Leyburn in September after the proposed improvements to the town centre have been made and see them for his/herself?

As to the demise of the food festival, it was the first of its kind and there are several reasons why charges had to be made, but that meant it could no longer compete with free events.

It needed “refreshing” and a replacement is being discussed by several organisations who wish to see the town thrive by giving visitors events to enjoy, such as the recent, extremely popular, 1940s Weekend.

Sheila Simms, Leyburn

Town envy

VJ CONNOR’S letter is full of false and incorrect observations (D&ST, Aug 14) which says more about him than the issues he attempts to address.

His comment that there is "not one seat in the whole of the town" beggars belief.

I assume that after he parked free in the town (try that in most towns) he couldn't locate any of the 25 public benches? Or perhaps Leyburn is that popular with tourists that they were all full?

He could have even use the popular bus stop which has another 15 seats, and a visit to our TIC would have helped find a seat for his envious backside to sit on – God forbid that he might even contemplate spending some money?

John H Nuttall, Leyburn