Letters

Surfleet Parish Council has been saying for months, nearing a year, that there is no money for Surfleet Park to be opened, repaired or whatever is needed to get it up and running. Numerous people have asked if they can raise money or what needs doing but the council refuses to say what needs doing or what needs raising. Now ...

Whatever your choice – newspaper, radio, television – you are constantly faced with senior politicians telling you “there are hard times ahead” and “difficult decisions have to be made”. Hard times are when you and your family are threatened with homelessness, financial hardship, hunger and mental despair. Difficult decisions are the ones, that if you get them wrong, could impact ...

One of the few good things that has come out of the coronavirus pandemic is that many more people than before are discovering the great outdoors. On my daily walk I come across many others who obviously appreciate that walking is good for both their physical and mental health. Now that we are beginning to emerge from lockdown we may ...

I am writing to you regarding the virus COVID-19. As we are all aware, the people of this country are doing their utmost to follow all the rules in order to prevent a second wave. This situation is now affecting young people, which they do not deserve. Their future education and lives, employment etc, could be wrecked by this virus ...

Interesting to read Imogen Sinclair’s gushing letter of praise for John Hayes (Letters, August 6). Miss Sinclair, from London, says that she has no vested interest in giving her praise, because she is not a South Holland voter. No doubt it’s just an oversight, but she forgets to mention that she is associated with Sir John in a working group ...

It is not unusual to read letters of support for our MP Sir John Hayes. I have always been impressed by how well his local supporters/ Conservative Party members organise themselves in this regard. I have no truck with that but do find it a bit ‘over the top at times’. Indeed, I am happy to accept that Sir John ...

An open letter to residents of the parish of Holbeach: After the extraordinary meeting on August 4, I write this statement to formally apologise on behalf of Holbeach Parish Council for the recent data protection breach regards to the CCTV in Carter’s Park. The episode has been investigated by a number of councillors and it was agreed at this meeting ...

It was sad to see Mr Tippler (Voice, July 30) try to weaponise the suffering of others in an attempt to notch up some political points. Attempts to politicise the NHS by insinuating that those with whom Mr Tippler disagrees are not eligible to celebrate the kindness and dedication of our wonderful carers, doctors and nurses is low and grubby. ...

In the July 30 issue there was an article by Sir John Hayes entitled “Democracy must never falter”. In that article there was, surprisingly, no mention of the attempt to thwart the democratic process by the attempt to illegally prorogue Parliament or recent moves to suppress the ability of MPs to discuss vital matters. Sir John writes about the volume ...

I write to express concern at the danger of the High Bridge pedestrian bridge in Spalding. This bridge has a very high volume of pedestrians and young cyclists who attend at least six large secondary and junior schools in the vicinity of Halmergate and Matmore Gate. This bridge has no pedestrian crossing facility at either end of the bridge and ...

Amidst other forms of self-promotion, readers might have missed Jan Whitbourn using local press columns to plug her support of the British Legion. Probably she thinks there are easy votes there for a Tory councillor, given the Legion’s hitherto strong PR. But whatever one thinks of the country’s history or the sacrifice made by veterans, the recent shutting down of ...

We sympathise with Spalding Market stall holders – it’s looking like South Holland District Council does not want the Spalding markets to continue, they seem to be putting as many obstacles in the way of the stall holders as possible. I do hope SHDC has carried out full health and safety checks? Have they offered them training on erecting the ...

I refer to three excellent articles in The Voice (July 30) regarding the council’s inability to maintain and administer our town centre and surrounding areas. These three articles voiced the opinion of many Spaldonians, all of which go conveniently unheard by the council. Whoever heard of a market town with no market? It’s utter nonsense that the stall holders should ...

There’s no doubt that MPs get a lot of stick these days, but I wanted to offer my two bob and give the wonderful local representative John Hayes some much deserved credit. He votes more often, speaks in Parliament more often and asks more Parliamentary questions than most other MPs in any party. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic continues, I’ve ...

I was shocked and yet sadly not surprised at the decision of our MP and my former opponent in the 2019 General Election, Sir John Hayes to vote against the Clause 17 Amendment to the Trade Bill on July 21 which would have enshrined in law “a comprehensive and publicly funded health service free at the point of delivery”. This ...

From July 24, the wearing of face masks became mandatory in shops and supermarkets. I understand while staff will most likely also wear masks, the rules mainly apply to customers. But surely we have to protect shop workers as they have a higher death rate from COVID-19 than the general population. Of course people want the confidence to shop safely ...

When I attended the very successful Town Centre Stakeholder event in February, organised by South Holland District Council to bring various stakeholders to explore options for transforming the town centre to meet the changing needs of the C21st, I am sure that no one in that room thought that within weeks a global pandemic would bring about economic challenges that ...

Of course, Mr Sloan is entitled to his political opinions (Voice letters, 23.07.20) – indeed, I entirely respect that he is a man with left wing convictions, and as such, is always likely to see the views of our Conservative MP through red tinted glasses. John Hayes has an impeccable voting record, voting, speaking and campaigning in the House of ...

May I ask that for a moment or two readers imagine that they are an employer? One of your staff comes to you and asks for some time off, say a couple of days per month, as in that time they want to work for someone else for huge sums of money and additionally they want to be kept on ...

I know many people that are totally fed up with local eyesores, either in town or on the outskirts in our local communities. The corner site at the junction of Carrington Road with Winsover Road Spalding is an absolute disgrace. The site was previously Burdens Garage before being bought for development, which must be almost a decade ago. The site ...