Good to hear MP is doing well

In these times full of bad news, how great was it to read about one of our local MPs doing really well for himself.

The news that Ranil Jayawardena earned £5,000 a day for eight days on top of a really good salary and lavish pay for his wife plus expenses for himself gave me a glow inside similar to that Christmas feeling that one gets.

The fact that he recently voted to keep poor children hungry - along with the rest of the Tories - seems to have been forgotten but hey he has to earn a living.

Some cynical people might think that there would be a conflict of interest in him getting paid by a private health company but I am sure he has the highest principles just like the rest of parliament.

I do wish him him well in his endeavours on behalf the electorate and I will be thinking of him when I come across the next homeless person on our streets.

Francis Henry, Roman Road, Basingstoke.

MP is doing nothing wrong

Ranil Jayawardena MP Minister for International Trade was portrayed in last week’s Gazette as some sort of underhand character, when actually he has done nothing wrong.

He complies fully with the ministerial code, and his consultations are nothing new in the world of politics. Ranil has one of the largest election majorities in the country and if his electorate isn’t happy with his consultation work I’m sure it will be reflected at the next election. I have met him on a few occasions. He is a charming chap who exudes confidence and pays particular attention to whatever you are talking to him about, unlike some politicians.

I do think it is reasonable to consider if politicians should peruke other employment besides their constituent and ministerial roles, but as I said it is not unusual to do so.

Cllr Graham Cockarill who stood against Ranil in the last election is quoted as saying: “On the face of it, it doesn’t look good.” It doesn’t look all that bad either. Ranil hasn’t done anything wrong. You might think ministers shouldn’t do other jobs on the side, but they do, and have done for decades.

Brian Simmonds, Belmont Heights, Hatch Warren, Basingstoke.

Cutting down trees a ‘tragedy’

I want to voice my concerns regarding the development that will on the land opposite Basingstoke golf club.

The devastation that has been caused by the cutting down of trees in preparation for this is a complete tragedy.

What about the wildlife that will be affected and what about the traffic that will be generated? All those trees that were cut down took ages to grow and the hedgerows were istoric. It seems developers can do just what they like without thought for nature. Shame on them.

How many more houses do we need in that area which is already congested? It really is very sad and we are all helpless to do anything about it. It is bad enough that houses are to be built on the grounds of the golf club, with probably more trees lost, but now we have to lose more beautiful fields and woodland.

Now I believe there are plans for an industrial site further down which will cause even more traffic. What else is being planned to spoil the beautiful countryside which is our heritage? Whatever will we pass on to future generations except bricks and mortar? No land will be left for us to enjoy. It is unbelievable.

Jeanne Hiscock, Buckskin, Basingstoke.

Morrisons Click and Collect chaos

I don’t know if anyone else in the area has experienced problems with Morrisons in Basingstoke, but I thought I would share my story.

I order groceries for myself and my 88 year-old mother on line mainly to avoid contact with others and protect her.

On this particular Saturday, my groceries were due to arrive between 2 and 3pm. When there was no sign of the groceries, I eventually managed to speak to a customer service agent at Head Office. I was shocked to hear that the Basingstoke store had a three hour delay. I was assured that someone would be contacting me to explain; they never did contact me.

Surprisingly a van turned up at 4pm and the driver told me he was late because he had to wait for the shopping to be packed. I quickly realised that most of my mother’s dinners were missing.

I telephoned head office again and the agent spoke to the Basingstoke store again. I was reassured to be told that the store manager would call me. I stated that the shopping was for my 88 year-old mother and therefore was a priority. I waited until 11 pm that evening but no call.

The next morning I called the head office for the fourth time. The agent telephoned the Basingstoke store whilst I held and told me the store are too busy to deliver the rest of your shopping as it would take time to sort out the missing items and they are also dealing with vulnerable people. I reiterated my mother is a vulnerable person.

The money spent on the groceries was refunded but due to the inexcusable lack of service, I requested an apology from the Basingstoke store manager but this never arrived.

Amanda Fisher, Harrow Drive, Headley.

What is the drama at The Anvil?

What on earth is going on at The Anvil? Its recently appointed chief executive has quietly disappeared, to be replaced without the post being advertised - reminiscent of the cronyism in our current Government. Perhaps Councillor Finney, the Chairman, has national ambitions.

The Anvil Trust was recently in receipt of £300 000 of emergency funding from the Arts Council, and continues to receive £800,000 from Basingstoke and Deane, annually - plus a generous subsidy of its rent. One might ask how this money is being spent, given there have been no performances for months and no sign of life emanating out of Churchill Way. However, a visit to the Charities Commission website is telling. One member of staff earns between £60 - £70,000 and another £80 000 - 90 000 , way in excess of similar roles in venues around the country. Who knows how far this munificence extends throughout the organisation? Nice work if you can get it - but isn’t it time they started to justify it?

Jack Edmunds, Hatch Warren, Basingstoke.

Are we ready for more pandemics?

As the world is currently struggling to contain the Coronavirus pandemic and the UK is in its second lockdown, the next predicted pandemic according to scientists is likely to come from the Amazon Rainforest where animals are farmed at the cost of precious rainforest deforestation. Burger King and other fast foods multinationals are sourcing cheap meat and animal feed from companies that bought from deforested land.

Ongoing deforestation is having profound consequences on climate change and changes in the world's largest rainforest drive the wild animals into new areas that increase interactions with humans. As people also move deeper into the forest to claim land for animal agriculture it increases the risk of viral or bacterial transmission of diseases between species. This scenario is predicted to be responsible for the next pandemic transmitted across the world.

Are we ready for another pandemic?

Jeannette Schael, Crookham Close, Tadley.

Our binmen are doing fantastic

After having read of the number of complaints about bin collections I felt it essential that I should write to commend the refuse collection in Almswood Road, Tadley.

The men collect the black/grey bins and then return them to exactly the same spot from whence they came. Once upon a time you had to hunt along the road to find the right empty bin but nowadays the current service is excellent and is much appreciated. Congratulations to them for doing such a good job.

Name and address supplied.

Unhappy with Serco’s service

Further to your article regarding waste collection complaints in this week’s Edition, We would like to add to the complaints by highlighting the continued poor service here in Oakley.

Many of us live in quiet closes that do not have pavements or street lighting and in courtesy to each other we refrain from parking our cars on the road.

Our close has been blighted by Serco bin collections teams who seem to think that it is alright to collect the bins from our driveways, empty them and then just dump them yards from our homes on the highway, (This in itself is an offence for each bin obstruction of the highway), and on other resident’s drive as in photos supplied.(My bin is on the far left).

I am ‘assisted collection’ whereby my bins should be collected and returned from outside my side gate. They don’t do this, as you can see.

I have complained to the council’s head of waste and despite promises and assurances nothing changes.

Mike Oldroyd, Lyde Close, Oakley.

Plenty on this winter

No festive theatre production in Basingstoke this Christmas? Think again! I’d like to thank the town’s Viables Community Centre for helping make a professional, Basingstoke-made Christmas show possible online.

Actors, directors and producers from the town have come together to create The Santa Show Online and Viables now have a ticket-link on their Facebook page.

Hopefully this will help raise money for the centre, which is such a cornerstone part of the community. The same team are also staging live Santa Shows at Theatre Royal Winchester and The Lights in Andover, so there’s a lot of festive theatre taking place in North Hampshire this Christmas, despite the virus.

Martin Parsons, Chester Place, Basingstoke.

  • Want to write in to our letters page? Email editor@basingstokegazette.co.uk