A selection of letters and emails to the editor from the past week.

 

Labour's failing our kids

REGARDING the story in last week’s South W£ales Guardian “’Massive’ school cuts on the way” (Guardian, November 25), Carmarthenshire County Council has been put into an impossible situation because of the cuts from the Welsh Government in Cardiff Bay.

The Party of Wales in the National Assembly has raised the impact of these cuts with the Education Minister but he blames others for his failures.

The first minister’s promise of a one per cent uplift for education over and above the block grant has been on shaky ground for some time.

Wales needs a new government to end Labour’s legacy of failure and to give our young people the best start in life.

Simon Thomas

Mid and West AM

Plaid Cymru

Shadow Education Minister

 

Tourism omnishambles

ONCE again pen and paper come together to assist Carmarthenshire County Council with the 2016 Tourist Guide to Ammanford.

We arrive in the town via Heol y Shambles, unique as the only mess of its kind in Britain. We note the panoramic views of Betws mountain with the “You wont see it with its built Wind Farm”!

Souvenirs can be purchased in the town centre shops, sorry due to high rates and parking charges they’ve closed, however the empty shops can still be viewed.

A tour of the historic buildings in the area begins with Pantyffynnon Railway Station, built in 1841 by the Llanelli Dock Railway, now surrounded by ugly fences and taken longer to revamp than to build, in the event of rain there’s a bus shelter outside the stations that can be used!

In Manor Road we have the British Legion Building opened on January 31, 1931, sorry closed March 29, 2007, demolished in May 2008.

In College Street we have the police station, opened in 1906, sorry demolished in 2004, replaced by yet more ugly fences.

In High Street the graceful lanes of the Castle Hotel, is sorry demolished, replaced by a block of flats and a car wash.

In downtown Ammanford we have the railway station, buildings and signal box serviced, ended 1958, all now demolished and replaced by trees and fences.

The power buildings built in 1909 by William Herbert to supply electricity to the Baltic Sawmills –— sorry all demolished and replaced by tarmac. However, a plaque exists at the end of Heol y Shambles.

Across the road we have Ammanford Zoo in Foundry Row, where a wide variety of species of rodent can often be seen basking in the sunshine and yes surrounded by more fences.

After the tour of our historic buildings a good meal in the many eateries can be had then a drive down the new ring road and bypass as far as the end of Tesco’s on the road to nowhere is a must, yet a gate and more fences.

W, we now have more fences than Hungary has around its borders.

As for the suggestion for Ammanford to be twinned, the Wild West American town of Dead Mans Gulch appears to fit the bill.

Happy tourism for 2016.

AW Broome

Parc-Bwtrimawr

 

Stop the incinerator

I AM ashamed to say, that despite others trying to raise awareness of the issue for more than two years, I have only now realised the seriousness of the proposed incinerator

at Cwmgwili.

The application for planning approval goes before the council committee in early January so it is vital for as many people to object as possible now.

There are many reasons to be concerned, not least for our health and that of future generations but also to the reputation and livelihood of the food park at Cross Hands, the increased HGV traffic along the notorious A48 stretch between Pont Abraham and Cross Hands, the toxic emissions and smell from the waste, the pollution to the land and watercourses and the lack of storage area at the proposed facility.

The developers themselves have an appalling history (all on public record) of failed businesses and unpaid loans which must surely raise doubts about the accuracy and viability of their proposals.

I have sent my objection to the planning committee and would strongly urge others to do the same too.

Sue Watson

Saron

 

Online help's on hand

SO MUCH of our life is now conducted online with more and more things available digitally.

We shop, search for jobs, chat, plan travel, watch television, and even sit exams online, however so much of that is more difficult for people with sight loss.

More than 80 per cent of blind and partially-sighted people say that their sight loss is the reason they are not using smart phones, tablets or being online at all.

That’s why RNIB Cymru has been funded by the Big Lottery Fund to show how people with sight loss can get online, how they can stay safe and use tools like magnification and voice over.

We’ll be bringing all the latest devices to Rhys Pritchard Hall, Llandovery, on Wednesday, December 9 from 10am to midday.

Drop in and see us, give us a call on 029 2082 8518 to save yourself a seat or find out more.

You can also save yourself a seat by using our 24-hour automated booking line on 029 2082 8548. It’s all free. Come and see what being online can do for you.

Chris Hoyle

Digital inclusion manager

Online Today

RNIB Cymru