Letters round-up

However, I find it strange that Highways England should be considering plans for a possible flyover across the Hopgrove roundabout so soon after the last and, I suspect, costly redevelopment of that junction which has resulted in traffic now flowing more freely over the new layout.

Problems continue to exist towards Scarborough where the dual carriageway reduces to a single lane, a factor which argues for a longer stretch of dual carriageway - ideally as far as the Barton-le-Willows section - to allow traffic to disperse after passing through the constrictions at the roundabout.

A flyover without a stretch of additional dual carriageway will simply cause traffic to tail back more quickly at Hopgrove, probably extending onto the York bypass.

Last year the A64 was beset by numerous tailbacks between Hopgrove and the Barton dual carriageway section; queues caused principally by weight of traffic and the geometry of the road occurred at any time of the day causing inevitable delays and no doubt damage to commercial interests.

Surely the time has come for Highways England to accept that the problems of the A64 go far deeper than tinkering with the layout at the Hopgrove roundabout, itself an issue which would anyway appear to have been resolved?

Murray Naylor, Huttons Ambo

Market madness

THE bid to move the Monday market into a car park in Pickering is madness and will do neither the market traders or the town any commercial good.

Historically markets have been placed in the centre of towns and that is their rightful place as they are easily accessible to shoppers and boost the trade in the shops they sit next to on a weekly basis.

This should be a mutually beneficial relationship and breaking this bond would be a negative move for the town.

Planned as a temporary move while gasworks are carried out on the main street through Pickering, this is just what it should be – a temporary base - with a return to its current location as soon as possible.

I hope that the traders win the day on this issue and those who are consulted on the permanent home for the market by Ryedale District Council and Pickering Town Council will defend its position where it belongs - in the town centre.

Councillor Di Keal, Liberal Democrat spokesman for Thirsk & Malton

Waste of time

ON April 14, 2016, the Gazette & Herald ran a story entitled “Ryedale MP Kevin Hollinrake to chair meeting on fracking regulation”.

Mr Hollinrake stated that the aim of the group was not to discuss the pros and cons of fracking but “to recommend appropriate regulation and planning regimes, should fracking take place”.

To date the eight-member group has met eight times.

As one of his constituents, I feel that it has failed miserably. The attendance of the committee members has been extremely poor, just 45 per cent. Three of the eight members have only attended one meeting.

How can they reach any recommendations when they are not there to listen to evidence.

What a waste of Westminster time and that of presenters and the public who have taken the time and expense to attended meetings, as I and others have.

This parliamentary group has no more authority to make recommendations to government on fracking than the darts team at the local pub.

Frank Colenso, Hovingham

Brilliant show

I WOULD just like to congratulate the Pickering Musical Society who put on a brilliant performance of the Little Mermaid at the Kirk Theatre.

The players, the costumes and the lighting crew all combined to make this one of the best I have seen.

To a packed house they kept us all entertained with the usual panto jokes, the dancers were exceptional and the audience participation was just right.

We hissed at the baddie and cheered the prince.

I took my granddaughter. We have an age span of 70 years and we both enjoyed a lovely afternoon.

To the volunteers who make this happen, I take my hat off to them.

Julie Hepworth, Pickering

Can you help?

I AM secretary of the Ryedale Family History Group and we are in the early throes of putting together an application for Heritage Lottery funding for a “population study of Helmsley”.

We are trying to put together a collection of relevant documentation and, in particular any school admission registers for the Lord Feversham CE School, which closed in 1953 and the Methodist School.

Have any of your readers any idea what might have happened to these registers? To the best of my knowledge, they are not at Northallerton?

If you have any details, phone 01751 473166.

Geoff Otterburn, Pickering