Recreation field

REGARDING the issues at Brompton recreation field (D&S Times, May 14), where the town council has rejected a proposed asset transfer to Brompton Recreation Group (BRG) – now's the chance for the people of Brompton to show their support for BRG. Tell the town council what you really want.

Since 1988 the council have not shown any interest in the Brompton Recreation Association, or what is better known as Brompton Recreation Group. The only time they have voiced their opinion of objection was when we put up the signs prohibiting dogs.

I’m pleased the current members were not sitting on the council when the field was acquired – or it would not have materialised; the councillors at that time had backbone. They supported the village as a whole, not just dealing with selective areas, which appears to be the norm these days.

Most of the councillors did not even know that the lease excluded them from any decision making regarding the BRG. One councillor even told me that the lease did not matter as it was very old, which is irrelevant. A lease is a lease.

At the town council meeting I was told by the chairman that I had caused lots of problems. When asked to explain he reluctantly said that I had banned dogs from the field, excluded a councillor from our committee and that I had locked the gate of the car park. He never asked why.

What he forgets is a chairman responds to committee decisions – that is how democracy works. He said that he was annoyed that I had not consulted him before applying for the asset transfer. Surely he should have said "contacted the council". If people reading this doubt my words then ask for the recording of the meeting – it is there.

What the council are trying to prove is that we are in breach of the lease by causing a nuisance – in actual fact we are trying to protect the field, the children and the public.

We have now been told that the council will not discuss the issue with us or at the next council meeting as they are taking legal advice – this means tax payers' money – which could be used elsewhere.

Barbara Slater, chairman, on behalf of the trustees and committee of Brompton Recreation Group.

Hall memories

I REFER to the article on the re-opening of Pinchinthorpe Hall (D&S Times, May 14).

I have a very precious memory of this beautiful old building, from my childhood.

My parents were friends of the then owner, when it was a private residence. He was a lovely old man, I always thought he may secretly be Father Christmas as he had white hair and a large white beard. This was the mid-1960s, and I was just a small child but my visit there with my mum has never been forgotten.

The stables were filled with an impressive collection of vintage cars, which today I would have been enthralled by. I recall he had had the rear seats of one of the Rolls’ removed to accommodate a large dog basket for his faithful golden Labrador, which he took everywhere with him.

When mum and I visited, we were served afternoon tea by a large fireplace with a roaring fire, by the housekeeper. There was a silver tea service, and we drank from delicate china teacups, there were also small sandwiches too.

I only went there the once, but it left a lasting impression and I feel very privileged to have experienced that wonderful afternoon. Every time I pass that lovely old hall on my way to Guisborough, I remember that day.

Louise Cope, Bilsdale.

Park petition

WHAT an excellent idea! “Petition for school fields to become community park” (D&S Times, May 21). A public park on the playing fields of the former Grammar School in Northallerton would be ideal – a fantastic amenity for the community, for all the reasons cited in your excellent article.

Our lack of a larger area of open space is partly due to the fact that from the Middle Ages we did not have a resident lord of the manor who might bequeath it.

Our "lord" was the Bishop of Durham, an absentee landlord whose palace here was in ruins by the time of Elizabeth I.

What did survive was the medieval Grammar School, whose charity money was then invested in the new school in 1909, so what could be more fitting?

We would have an amenity to be proud of, based in the history of our town but also serving future generations.

Jennifer Allison, Northallerton.

Global warming

THE letters of Martin Coady and Alastair Welsh (D&S Times letters, May 14) seem to suggest that the best answer to global warming is to do nothing. Fortunately it is not the answer believed by 97 per cent of the population.

Global warming is most obvious in the Arctic and Antarctic, with unprecedented glacier melt, and in Low Countries like Bangladesh and the Maldives, where some people are displaced because their homes are now under water due to rising sea levels.

We had the devastating East Coast floods, and the Thames barrier was fortunately built in time to protect London.

Our atmosphere acts as a blanket around the earth, giving us mostly moderate temperatures here. We have successfully reduced some harmful constituents like lead in petrol, London’s previously sulphurous smog, and harmful sulphur oxides with Clean Air acts.

But the effects of carbon dioxide are more subtle. If the amount increases, its greater density prevents heat from escaping back into the atmosphere as much as before, causing temperatures to rise above normal. Burning of coal, oil and other carbon fuels, most evident in China, USA and Russia, heighten the effect. So it is a global problem, requiring global solutions. Otherwise deserts expand, and storms and hurricanes become more fierce and common.

Planting of very many trees helps in absorbing more of the CO2 they need for growth, but massive deforestation in other areas obviously has the opposite effect. Some coal burning plants now include other units for carbon capture before it is dispersed into the atmosphere, and greater use of wind, solar, tidal, hydroelectric and nuclear power all help by not affecting air’s CO2 content. But it is not enough, and more ambitious and binding targets are needed, by 2030 not 2050.

If the atmospheric CO2 content reduced below about 0.03 per cent, global cooling would occur, but that has been unlikely since the Industrial Revolution.

The fact that we grow more food than ever is because there are more mouths to feed, so crop failure from global warming would be even more devastating. It is future generations which stand to suffer most from global warming.

Jim Robinson, Morton on Swale.

No denialist

I ADVISE Frank Broughton (D&S Times letters, May 21) that I am not a "denialist". Cyclical climate changes happen, naturally. It always has and always will.

However, I do not believe that any normal actions of human kind (other than a total nuclear war) can cause catastrophic climate change/extinction. Indeed, global temperatures are currently trending downwards.

The current greatest threat to mankind is fake science. The current rise in CO2 has facilitated the increase in "greening" of the planet (15 per cent to 20 per cent) and allowed the growing of sufficient food to feed the increase in the world’s population. Without this additional "plant food" we would have mass starvation.

I believe in human rights. What gives Extinction Rebellion (and Frank Broughton) the right to advocate cutting CO2 emissions, when doing so, must cause mass starvation?

I only suggested that the public read into the matter and make up their own minds on whether the science is good or bad. I have done this. However, Frank Broughton thinks I have come to the wrong conclusion. Please make up your own minds. The quicker the better.

I suggested people research the matter on YouTube or Google. Be aware that YouTube are increasingly de-platforming scientists who demonstrate that the "human caused climate change science" is flawed. Of the 32 climate models used to predict future temperatures, only one was proved almost correct when compared with measured temperatures: This was a Russian model.

All the others predicted a temperature rise to-date at many times the actual measured rise in temperature.

Should we be advocating and implementing drastic measures which will, inevitably, lead to mass starvation, on the basis of bad science? I say no. I also think that we should be questioning the motives of the politicians who believe these "experts".

Alastair PG Welsh, Aycliffe Village.

Weather patterns

IF I may point out the obvious, changes in weather patterns are nothing new, inconsistency is the norm.

What myself and other sceptics believe is that, as I have previously stated, there is no proof mankind is in any way responsible. I am certainly not alone in this train of thought which is confirmed by many other far more notable people than myself.

Having listened to and read unbiased technical data from numerous worldwide resources, I have come to the conclusion any inconsistencies are down to natural phenomenon.

Billions have been raised from environmental taxes, untold numbers of wind and solar panel farms have been installed over the past two decades, to little or no avail.

There have been continuous changes in the global climate for thousands/millions of years, as the saying goes "the only thing constant is change".

Trevor Mason, Swainby.

PM's behaviour

MR Wetherell's reply (D&S Times letters, May 14) to my letter of May 7 avoids any observation on the one simple query I had for those who vote for a Conservative Party led by its current leader. His well reported behaviour prompted me to make comments under the heading "setting an example".

Boris Johnson's behaviour is an offence to what I and so many others tried to do in my 44 years in the education service. I used my time in teaching and school management in five schools to support student behaviour and development and certainly would not use students to further a political agenda as was suggested.

When school children are expected under their school's behaviour policies to be honest, to not cheat or bully and not break rules, why are some adult voters happy to support Mr Johnson, who regularly lies, cheats, supports bullying and is prepared to break the law?

Mr Wetherell says, in the only part of his veiled political response that was vaguely relevant, that we should respect the Prime Minister regardless of our personal views. We should respect his behaviour. Really?

John Hopkins, Crakehall, Bedale.

Liberal views

IN his analysis of the present problems of the Labour Party (D&S Times letters, May 14) Thomas Ball includes, almost as a throwaway comment, “we could end up with ... the Liberals, a misnomer, as they are decidedly illiberal, if you disagree with them...”.

It sounds as if he has had some bad experience in the past – maybe someone who refused to agree with his views? He does not live in the Richmond constituency, where I have found my fellow Liberal Democrats to be sincere in their liberal views, but I am sure his local Lib Dems would be happy to discuss his concerns with him.

If we are looking for illiberal views, we might consider a government which includes people like Priti Patel and Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Richard Short, Great Ayton.