Who'll reap profit from course fees?
THE Rye fishermen deserve every support particularly as recently it was front page news that the new reduced EU-awarded quotas threatened their financial viability.
I presume that the quotas have been increased, otherwise the planned infrastructure support will be of no help. However I am surprised that DEFRA does not already run a course which awards an appropriate processing qualification.
Perhaps they do not consider it worthwhile as presumably elsewhere in the industry those who reap profits from processing are happy to train their own staff. How have they been trained in Rye up to now; how many are planned to be trained in the future; and who will reap the profit from the charges for the course?
I am also concerned that Rye Partnership is to be involved. By their own admission large amounts of taxpayers' money have been disbursed by them since they were formed in 1996, with little to show for it.
At a directors meeting on June 24, 2004, their employed consultant reported that the Partnership had never had any formal accounts; and since they became a Limited Liability Company in 2003 they have never had their accounts audited - despite the fact they are handling taxpayers' money which, when disbursed by elected councils, they know is subject to audit.
It may well be that it is this aspect of Rye Partnership accountancy that has attracted the interest of the National Audit Office for investigation.
We taxpayers should not allow anyone to waste our hard-earned cash.
Mr D R BOURNE
Abbott Way, Tenterden, Kent

Who will take the responsibility?
FURTHER to your Battle Observer article of Friday, March 21, concerning the closure of the road at the junction of the B2204 and A279 at Ninfield, we had to put up with three closures without any advance warning. (Sunday, March 9, Sunday, March 16, and the Monday referred to in the article).
No advance warning signs of closure were placed on the roads leading to Ninfield prior to the closure. If they had been in position some days beforehand then drivers could have made alternative plans.
The East Sussex County Council Highways Department web site was not updated to show closures. The site indicates it is updated every 15 minutes and it wasn't.
Sadly this seems not to have been thought through with any clarity whatsoever. It seems to be a case of ignoring the Council Tax payers and treating us like idiots. We are the ones paying for a job to be done properly and with the minimum of inconvenience.
The head of East Sussex Highways Department should fall on his/her sword and admit to the gross failure of his/her employees! It is high time our public employees took responsibility!
DAVID BATES
The Stream, Catsfield

Re: Catsfield Road closure
EAST Sussex County Council failed to set up diversionary signs. It's so basic. All motorists saw was a sign that the road was shut. The result was a shambles causing chaos and misery for motorists and local residents. At one time I was directing traffic away from choked country lanes.
Council taxpayers will end up footing the bill for repairs to the damaged carraigeways and grass verges caused by the county council's incompetence. The press statement that the county council put out was a whitewash - they knew they had blundered.
PETER SMITH
Standard Hill Close, Ninfield

TWO articles in your newspaper last week hightlighted problems caused by the Catsfield road closure and concerns over the proposed summer festival at Burnt Barns Farm. Many people feel these articles should in fact have been linked.
The road closure sharply highlighted the chaos and danger to all road users along the Marlpits, Moons Hill and Skinners Lane area - all very narrow lanes with, as all realised little or no passing places. The damage to the roads, surroundings and obvious and real danger to all users and locals surely should make a large festival of this nature sited in this vicinity not only a nonsense but a public liability.
Mrs K Shaw
Moons Hill
Ninfield

Let's fight these greedy developers
LET US all support our mayor and council regardless of our political persuasions.
They have the well being of Rye in their hands -namely to help make available affordable houses, find local employment and save the green belt around Rye.
The countryside is part of what makes Rye what it is for the residents and for all the visitors from abroad, several who return to enjoy all the surroundings has to offer.
Once this area has gone it is gone for ever and Rye will become like any other town with satellite estates.
Let us all work hard to fight these greedy developers who will sink to any depths (ie green issues) to get hold of greenbelt land which is less expensive to develop than brown field sites.
Rye does not need a satellite estate on the edge of an area of outstanding natural beauty - polluting the night sky with street lights and causing more problems for Udimore Road with all the extra traffic.
I believe there is a government body who can override any decision made at an appeal but let us hope all will respect the Engish countryside around Rye that is still a green field site.
Rye and its environs are enjoyed by many people from the UK and around the world. Let us work to keep Rye a special place for the future.
I urge everyone in Rye to attend the meeting on Wednesday, April 2, 6.45pm at Rye Community Centre, and let the powers to be know the people of Rye care for Rye and the future of the area.
EILEEN RISON
Oast House Drive
Rye

Time for much better dog control
AS a dog owner, I would like to agree with Mrs. Green's 'Put yourself in their shoes' (March 21) letter about the need for much better dog control.
The greatest risk to public health from dog faeces is toxocariasis. Young children are particularly at risk. Each dog faeces may contain hundreds of thousands of eggs which can survive up to three years outside.
After two to three weeks, the eggs develop into an embryo state when they become infective to dogs and people. The VLM type of toxocariasis causes inflammation of the liver, abdominal pain and pyrexia.
The OLM type causes significant visual impairment and, in serious cases, blindness. There are about 12 new cases of OLM diagnosed annually in England each year.
To reduce the risk, dog owners should poop scoop every time their dog makes a mess. Keep a supply of bags next to the lead as a reminder.
Dogs should be wormed regularly - every three months. Use a prescription wormer from a vetinary surgeon.
I walk my dog along Tillingham Avenue regularly and I must say the signs asking dog owners to clear up after their dogs, the threat of a possible £1,000 fine for not doing so and the provision of dog poo bins has made a big difference to the amount of dog excrement to be found.
There used to be more piles of excrement than you can count. Nowadays, you tend to pass between 20 and 30 piles whenever you walk this way.
In some areas in other European countries, they have reduced dog faeces in public places to zero by using DNA testing to prove culpability and then fining the owners sufficient to pay for the test, clearing up and administration.
As an owner who clears up her dog's mess, I would be happy to see the irresponsible owners being made to pay for their anti-social behaviour.
Since the Dangerous Dogs Act was passed in 1991, there have continued to be deaths from dog attacks. This shows the legislation is really not an adequate way of dealing with this problem.
Most are children and most dogs involved are not dogs banned by the act. The problem is really one of inadequate controls on dog ownership.
The golden rule when dealing with aggression in dogs is 'if you treat a dog like a human, it won't be long before the dog treats you like a dog'.
Dogs attack that which they perceive to be vulnerable, which is why children are so frequently victims. Although dogs are very affectionate to their owners, they are evolved with the instincts to hunt, stalk, chase and kill.
A dog does not know that the death penalty awaits him if he bites people. A dog does not realise how offensive he can be to people he does not know.
When someone does not like dogs, the dog will sense this and it often triggers an attack. A person's distress triggers the dog's primal instinct to strike at the vulnerable.
Most unwanted behaviour in dogs could be quickly eliminated by making it a legal requirement dogs are kept on a short (one metre) lead in public places.
However, we could do much better than this! We could bring back the dog licence and expect dog owners to attend dog training classes.
I believe we should make dog ownership a privilege granted to the worthy who have demonstrated they have sufficient knowledge and training to look after their dogs properly and will not allow them to be a nuisance to others.
This would ensure owners have at least some idea of what is required of them by their dogs and by other members of the public.
If you own a dog, you should expect to invest time in looking after the dog. All dogs require exercise and training and are a joy to most when they get this.
I believe it is high time that the council shouldered its responsibilities by promoting dog warden schemes to enforce legislation with regard to dog fouling and dog control in public places. Dogs should be on a short lead in public places and we need education to promote responsible attitudes to dog ownership.
Ms M. WILSON
Cyprus Place
Rye

Not credible
I HOPE that the residents of Tilling Green have noticed that last week their Member of Parliament, Michael Foster, voted against the suspension of the current list of Post Office closures.
Could this be the same representative who you reported, on January 18, that was asking the Government to 'hang fire' on the closures and was saying that the plans were 'fundamentally flawed'?
His subsequent explanation for voting for the closures is just not credible in the light of what he was saying only ten weeks ago.
They say it is only by actions that you can judge words - so will anyone be able to trust Mr. Foster again?
MICHAEL MILLER
Iden
Rye

Chapel plea
ARE there other readers who feel, as I do, that it would be a very great shame to allow the partially destroyed chapel in Rye Cemetery to be set aside as a 'feature ruin'?
It was built originally as a chapel where services were held and where people of all denominations could seek comfort in prayer and quiet reflection, often at times of bereavement and distress.
There is no chapel in use in this fine cemetery, visited regularly by so many local people with family and friends laid to rest there.
Might this be an opportunity to consider finding some way of rebuilding the chapel and restoring it to its original purpose?
There could be no finer objective.
I am sure that such an initiative would attract much support.
Mrs JOCELYN ROWE
Rye Hill
Rye

Family tree plea
I HAVE traced my family tree back to 1789, and found that many of my ancestors were true Romany gypsies from Sussex.
If anyone recognises the name Samson Roberts, or the surnames Elliott or Clark, I'd love to hear from you, we may be related! I am happy to share my tree.
Mrs MARKHAM
16 Thompson Road
Keresley End
Coventry CV7 8JW

Wonderful care
I HAVE just had a three week stay in the Benson Ward at the Conquest Hospital in Hastings and I would like to say a big thank you for all the wonderful care and attention given to me by the doctors and nurses there.
Mrs MARGARET WILKINSON
Bexhill

Isolation isn't the answer
I USUALLY don't bother to respond to Barry M. Jones of Beckley. It's not I'm disrespectful, it's just he doesn't happen to be a constituent of mine and I'm always bemused as to why he takes such an interest in his next door MP when he has one of his own.
He tends to be one up on even the 'Daily Mail' on the 'Euro myths' he proclaims on a fortnightly basis.
What really gets me is his constant belief that only the Labour Party and, therefore, his next door MP, is in favour of Europe. That's simply not true.
The vast majority of the Conservative Party, including his own MP, Greg Barker, is a firm supporter of the European community, so, too, the Lib Dems.
The only anti-Europe Party, if by that you mean those such as Mr Jones who wish to withdraw from the community, is UKIP - so, at least to be fair, it would be reasonable for him to widen his concerns. But more important still is Mr Jones should not be allowed to get away with the myths to which I refer.
The battle to retain imperial measurements was won long ago, with the support of the British government. What will be required is for dual weights to apply so the consumer can compare value. I don't know if Barry Jones has grandchildren, but mine talk metric. They have little knowledge of pounds and ounces or yards and inches, so why should they be disadvantaged?
If the oldies want to talk in pounds and pints (which it so happens I do) then well and good, but let us not deny the youngsters what they understand, especially when we can have the best of both worlds.
And finally, why Bill Cash's Parliamentary amendment to 'retain British sovereignty' was unnecessary is because British sovereignty is already a fact.
At any time we want (and, it so happens, under the new Treaty it is spelt out for the first time) we, as a sovereign Parliament of the United Kingdom, can vote to leave the EU. While we remain members then we must agree common trading rules. I have, in the past, used the analogy of a tennis club; I can leave my tennis club at any time, but I won't have anyone to play with. That's true, too, for Britain.
True patriots do what is best for their country and its people. To be part of the largest trading group in the world, but still to retain our sovereignty, is, in my view, true patriotism - doing ones best for ones country, not isolation on the sidelines of world affairs.
I started this letter by saying I have never before responded to Barry Jones, after all he is not a constituent and he has an MP of his own. Under Parliamentary protocol I am not really allowed to, but I hope Greg Barker will forgive me if I do so on this occasion, given Mr Jones's persistent reference to me in his many letters to the Observer.
MICHAEL FOSTER
Rye MP

On the wrong track?
Copy of letter sent to The Prime Minister
I AM writing in response to comments made on Question Time in February indicating the Labour Party have instigated more public transport to enable people to get out of their cars and on to trains and buses - however, many people cannot be included in these plans.
Two and a half years ago, many small stations throughout the south of England experienced radically reduced stopping times of trains at local country stations.
This has had a devastating effect on communities who are now struggling to remain independent in their chosen place of habitation.
Three Oaks, near Hastings, is one of those communities. Despite meetings, letters and surveys, the decision had obviously already been made to restrict the stopping times of trains in order to comply with the franchise for a faster train from Brighton to Ashford International.
Since the 'downgrading' of Ashford and the construction of Ebbsfleet, it had been hoped the decision would be reviewed in order to allow trains to stop at more convenient times.
Trains used to stop at Three Oaks Station every hour both ways but, since December 2005, they have stopped at 7am, 9.27am and 11pm on their way to Hastings and at 6am, 5.15pm and 10.42pm on route to Ashford.
Residents are only petitioning for more convenient stopping times rather than the very early and very late times which are seldom used, if ever.
Taking the 9.27am train into Hastings means a wait until 5pm before the return journey can be made - and getting into Rye or travelling to Ashford is totally out of the question.
The nearest public transport is a bus service one mile away and in order to reach this it is necessary to walk along a winding pavement-less road which, for the past 10 years or so, has been used as a cut-through for traffic going to and form Hastings and Rye.
Many village residents - some of whom have lived in the village for many years - have to rely on friends or relatives to take them to and from shops.
From 1984 until 2005, as a village resident, I used the train service often in order to travel to Rye and Hastings and even took my bike on several occasions.
When my children were young, they used the train to go to and from school in Rye, until the train times changed many years ago and consequently did not fit in with school hours.
My car was out of action for several days on three occasions last year which caused me concern as my active, very elderly mother lives with me and her well-being is paramount to me. I would be interested to receive your comments.
ZENA PEARSON
Three Oaks