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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2017/jul/22/letters-second-home-owners-are-destroying-rural-economies
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| Second home owners are destroying rural economies | Second home owners are destroying rural economies |
| (17 days later) | |
| The difficulties communities in rural England face in preserving their integrity will strike a chord west of Offa’s Dyke (“Why rural Britain needs a new deal”, Special Report). | The difficulties communities in rural England face in preserving their integrity will strike a chord west of Offa’s Dyke (“Why rural Britain needs a new deal”, Special Report). |
| The problems described in your report are exacerbated in large parts of rural Wales, where the language and culture are under enormous pressure from a seemingly endless tide of second homers and elderly English retirees, whose main impact is to price local youngsters out of the housing market. | The problems described in your report are exacerbated in large parts of rural Wales, where the language and culture are under enormous pressure from a seemingly endless tide of second homers and elderly English retirees, whose main impact is to price local youngsters out of the housing market. |
| The housing crisis in Wales is acute and has its origins in the sale of council houses at knockdown prices as an electoral bribe by the Thatcher government. The irony in Wales is that while many understandably took up this offer, few here ever voted for Thatcher. Restrictions were placed on local authorities to replace the housing stock sold off and this is the basis of the desperate housing shortage we now have throughout the UK. | The housing crisis in Wales is acute and has its origins in the sale of council houses at knockdown prices as an electoral bribe by the Thatcher government. The irony in Wales is that while many understandably took up this offer, few here ever voted for Thatcher. Restrictions were placed on local authorities to replace the housing stock sold off and this is the basis of the desperate housing shortage we now have throughout the UK. |
| Many of the older incomers seem to have scant respect for the different history and rich cultural tradition of the country into which they move. In some places, villages have become hollowed out by second homes, very much akin to the situation in parts of that other old Celtic country, Cornwall. The identity of the ancient land of Wales now faces an existential threat. | Many of the older incomers seem to have scant respect for the different history and rich cultural tradition of the country into which they move. In some places, villages have become hollowed out by second homes, very much akin to the situation in parts of that other old Celtic country, Cornwall. The identity of the ancient land of Wales now faces an existential threat. |
| These problems may be catastrophically magnified in the event of a hard Brexit, without replacement of European funding by the UK government. The Welsh economy as a whole is more dependent on access to the single market and customs union than any other part of the UK. It is also dependent on a large rural economy reliant on the health of its agricultural base, which is under serious threat from the continued implosion of rural communities. Ian SeatonSwansea | These problems may be catastrophically magnified in the event of a hard Brexit, without replacement of European funding by the UK government. The Welsh economy as a whole is more dependent on access to the single market and customs union than any other part of the UK. It is also dependent on a large rural economy reliant on the health of its agricultural base, which is under serious threat from the continued implosion of rural communities. Ian SeatonSwansea |
| The problems of rural transport are particularly frustrating for communities that still have stations, but where hardly any trains stop. The network is peppered with small stations with just a handful of trains daily (or even just one day a week), at times that are of little or no practical use. The Department for Transport should insist on a sensible minimum service level for all stations – say three trains daily in each direction, morning, noon and early evening.Graham LarkbeyLondon E17 | The problems of rural transport are particularly frustrating for communities that still have stations, but where hardly any trains stop. The network is peppered with small stations with just a handful of trains daily (or even just one day a week), at times that are of little or no practical use. The Department for Transport should insist on a sensible minimum service level for all stations – say three trains daily in each direction, morning, noon and early evening.Graham LarkbeyLondon E17 |
| Make education truly equal | Make education truly equal |
| The government can act to “level the playing field” in Britain by legislating for equality of opportunity in education (“The middle classes have learned how to hoard…” In Focus). Since about 93% of school-age pupils attend state schools and a greater percentage of state school students obtain first-class degrees than do those from private schools, there are not likely to be genuinely academic reasons why 50% of students at Oxford and Cambridge attended private schools. Since the government interferes in the daily work of schools by setting targets for them and their students, it might like to require all universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, to offer a limited target percentage of places to students from private schools.Miles SeckerHeckingtonLincolnshire | The government can act to “level the playing field” in Britain by legislating for equality of opportunity in education (“The middle classes have learned how to hoard…” In Focus). Since about 93% of school-age pupils attend state schools and a greater percentage of state school students obtain first-class degrees than do those from private schools, there are not likely to be genuinely academic reasons why 50% of students at Oxford and Cambridge attended private schools. Since the government interferes in the daily work of schools by setting targets for them and their students, it might like to require all universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, to offer a limited target percentage of places to students from private schools.Miles SeckerHeckingtonLincolnshire |
| How to help the lowest paid | How to help the lowest paid |
| We should all be concerned about the crisis in vital parts of the public sector due to capped low pay. | We should all be concerned about the crisis in vital parts of the public sector due to capped low pay. |
| There is no magic money tree and governments want to keep costs down but could we not afford a fair increase at the lowest pay bands in the public sector (say, 5%) and apply this as a flat sum across all bands or grades? Then the most disadvantaged are helped most and costs are limited. Everyone gets the same.Dr Richard TaylorAberdeen | There is no magic money tree and governments want to keep costs down but could we not afford a fair increase at the lowest pay bands in the public sector (say, 5%) and apply this as a flat sum across all bands or grades? Then the most disadvantaged are helped most and costs are limited. Everyone gets the same.Dr Richard TaylorAberdeen |
| Autism is not a blessing | Autism is not a blessing |
| Charlotte Moore writes with persuasive eloquence on Naoki Higashida’s second book (Books) but the words “learning disability” do not appear. | Charlotte Moore writes with persuasive eloquence on Naoki Higashida’s second book (Books) but the words “learning disability” do not appear. |
| Valuable and powerful this book may be, but for thousands of adults on the so-called autistic spectrum the condition is disabling and, for their parents like me, devastating. | Valuable and powerful this book may be, but for thousands of adults on the so-called autistic spectrum the condition is disabling and, for their parents like me, devastating. |
| My son is 61 and was diagnosed in 1961. I have little idea what goes on in the head of my non-verbal child. I know, however, that so many like him are plagued by antisocial behaviour, self-harm, epilepsy, incontinence, have few gifts and are utterly dependent on the love of others. | My son is 61 and was diagnosed in 1961. I have little idea what goes on in the head of my non-verbal child. I know, however, that so many like him are plagued by antisocial behaviour, self-harm, epilepsy, incontinence, have few gifts and are utterly dependent on the love of others. |
| I do not resent at all the obvious gifts of Higashida, but the idea that autism might be a blessing appals me. And this book serves sadly to continue the myth that autism might be a good thing. I can tell your readers that it is not.Michael BaronChair, National Autistic Society, 1962-1967London W2 | I do not resent at all the obvious gifts of Higashida, but the idea that autism might be a blessing appals me. And this book serves sadly to continue the myth that autism might be a good thing. I can tell your readers that it is not.Michael BaronChair, National Autistic Society, 1962-1967London W2 |
| The joys of an empty nest | The joys of an empty nest |
| Dr Richard Tyler espouses the benefits of university students remaining at home to take their degrees, rather than relocating to far-flung parts of the country (The Big Issue, last week). “Winners all round!” he proclaims with shattering jollity. One can only presume Dr Tyler has never been a parent.Jay J GreenPulboroughWest Sussex | Dr Richard Tyler espouses the benefits of university students remaining at home to take their degrees, rather than relocating to far-flung parts of the country (The Big Issue, last week). “Winners all round!” he proclaims with shattering jollity. One can only presume Dr Tyler has never been a parent.Jay J GreenPulboroughWest Sussex |