Dear Sir,
Two matters in last week’s edition of the Newton News have encouraged me to ‘put pen to paper’: The controversy over the voluntary cleaning of the West Park BOATING Lake and Have your say on smoke free play areas. Since matters are both related to Public Parks in the town I have chosen to address both together.
Calling the Town Council fascists over their mishandling of the West Park BOATING lake matter is inappropriate and factually wrong.  Fascism was a right wing Italian political ideology.  However, the Labour controlled Town Council’s edict in this matter is more akin to that of a left wing, communist, single party state.  In such a state, e.g. Soviet Russia, dissenters were confined to lunatic asylums/ banished to Siberia.  The simple logic being the Party is right and that anybody who disagrees must therefore be mad!
It would appear that the Labour Party have such a large majority on both the Town and County Councils that they can ignore both public opinion and the inescapable fact that the Lake was designed as a boating lake. Indeed, their predecessors commissioned the New Town Development Corporation to construct the Boat House.  The Town Council’s historical failure to properly maintain the lake and BOAT HOUSE does not give it the right to allow the lake to degenerate into an ecological swamp in the middle of a public park!  The environment to be addressed by the “Environmental Officer” is ‘Residential’ and ‘Public (play) Park’.  Did the Town Council really need to go to the expense of employing an “Environmental Officer” to come to the wrong conclusion?  Where was the “Environmental Officer” when the refuse collection strike and the 2 weekly bin collection service turned the town into a health hazard?
With regards to the Town Council’s intention to allow algae and weeds to flourish, I trust that when the lakes degenerate into a breeding ground for midges and mosquitoes the Town Council will allow park users to smoke, as they will need to, if they are not to be eaten alive by the midges!
DCC ‘Consultation’ on Smoke-Free Play Areas.
I accessed the web based ‘consultation’ and consider that it is not a consultation; it is a piece of political chicanery by the undemocratic, fanatical, anti-smoking lobby (of which there appears to be a preponderance among New Labour activists).  A consultation should not pose questions as to the best way to implement the policy.
The proponents of this policy, the County Durham Tobacco Control Alliance, believe that, “by reducing children’s exposure to smoking and making it less socially acceptable, children are less likely to take up the habit themselves”.   If they actually believe this, why are they not first campaigning for a repeal of the smoking ban in Public Houses which has resulted in smoking parents being required to indulge their legal habit at home in front of their children!  This, presumably unwanted outcome of the Act was anticipated by New Labour’s Minister, John Reid.  However, the fanatics carried the day.  They were not interested in ‘passive smoking’, that was only a smoke screen for their wish to demonise and isolate a substantial minority of the population who exercise their human right to choose to smoke and increase the Tax take of the Government.
When children reach the age of sixteen they have the right to choose whether to smoke or not.  My own experience, as one of five siblings and as a parent of two, is that teenagers will do what they want, regardless of the example set by their parents (or by other parents in public parks). Stopping parents smoking in public parks will inevitably be counter-productive to the (stated) aims of CDTCA. Like the ban on smoking in Public Houses, it will increase the likelihood of parents smoking in front of their children at home and may well discourage parents who smoke from taking their children to public parks.  The result of this may well be children losing out on the health benefits of play and/or parental supervision and protection while playing.
I caution against changing the status quo on the right of smokers to smoke in Public Parks on the basis CDTCA’s ‘belief’ which is not based on scientific fact (or the findings of centuries of parents) and question their right to deny parents and children their right to choose. Further, what right have they to interfere with how smoking parents bring up their children?
Who are these people? Are they elected? Are they funded by the Council?  We need to know the answers to these questions.
Another (increasing?) substantial minority of parents apparently exercise their right to overfeed their children with no regard to the probable (proven) health issues.  When are the health fanatics at CDTCA going to concentrate on demonising them and leave off smokers?
Yours sincerely,
Alastair P.G.Welsh

 

nature park