Letters: Withdrawal of bus service will leave many stranded

As the councillor for Dalkeith I am acutely aware of the effect of this on the residents of Woodburn. The No 92 has evolved over the years from the town service to the present service. It has allowed residents to attend all the medical services in Dalkeith and access to cheaper shopping. Many are elderly and the walk out to Lauder Road will prove difficult or impossible.

The residents in Newton Village, Millerhill and surrounding areas are in a more dire situation as they have no access at all to transport services. The annoyance for them is that the council recently subsidised a bus service for them.

On the issue of subsidies, your readers may be interested to know that the council does subsidise many routes. The council is in talks with other bus providers and it is hoped that the subsidies may allow some routes to be salvaged.

The other issue is the closure of the Dalkeith depot and the consequent redundancies. At a time of high unemployment, many staff will have difficulties finding gainful employment. My thoughts are with them and their families.

I note that the Evening News also reported that the closure of the Dalkeith depot will allow the retail development to take place sooner. The news of a retailer coming to Dalkeith is welcome but this news is tempered by the redundancies of 200.

I ask your readers to write to Colin Beattie and Christine Graham, both MSPs representing Midlothian, to raise their plight in the Scottish Parliament, demanding that the Scottish Government revoke its decision on the changes to the Bus Service Operators Grant which along with other financial matters have brought about these circumstances.

Councillor Margot Russell, Dalkeith

One-time renegers can renege again

I refer to Cllr Marilyne MacLaren’s comments about the loss of green space relating to a new Portobello High school on Portobello Park (News, April 4).

She says that Lady Dorrian highlights a council report from 2006, where one of the conditions relating to the new school being built on Portobello Park was that there would be “no housing built on the park or adjacent golf course”.

Can I just remind Cllr MacLaren that when Portobello Park was transferred from private ownership to the council, one of the conditions of the sale was that “the land be used exclusively as a public park and recreation ground for the community and never have houses or buildings of any kind erected on it”.

The council is clearly determined to renege on the conditions of the sale and could similarly renege on the conditions of the potential new school.

Sheila Coventry, Towerbank school parent, Portobello

Let’s vote this lot out at election

On April 3 the News printed a letter from a Mr Lewis – “Make them regret the trams fiasco”.

Mr Lewis, you are spot on, just my wavelength! Your letter was brilliant, you spoke for the silent majority of our war-torn city centre.

What are our present bunch of incompetent, reckless, irresponsible, totally deaf, so-called “councillors” occupying well padded, overpaid seats doing? Probably wondering how next to waste taxpayers’ hard-earned money.

Are we in our fourth year? Well, enough is enough. Let battle commence. Election day looms close, citizens of our once lovely city, unite and collectively let’s get rid of these feckless people who occupy Edinburgh’s council.

Let’s all vote for new candidates with dedication who are capable of solving this never-ending nightmare we are all going through.

Yes, use your vote, but please, please vote wisely – just get rid of this lot!

Mrs Sylvia M DeLuca, Baberton Park, Juniper Green, Edinburgh

Keep pensioners away at rush hour

I believe there should be a time in the day when workers are on their way home – say two hours, between 4pm to 6pm – when pensioners are omitted to travel on buses.

Then they could travel afterwards.

W. McCulloch (69-year-old pensioner), Park Avenue, Loanhead