The demise is totally caused, not by steadily increasing taxes on beer, but solely by the no-smoking ban.
With respect, Dave Daley, the alleged spokesman, for the local licensed trade, just does not know what he is talking about.
A few days ago I was in Hamish Howitt's pub, and got into conversation with another man at the bar.
I offered him a cigarette, which he declined, saying that he did not smoke.
I queried with him why he was in a last-bastion for smokers in the area?
He said he was there because he found that smokers were much more companionable than non-smokers.
Two weeks ago in Germany a court in Kartrushe decreed that the ban was "unfair and discriminatory" and allowed smoking to continue.
Out of anthills – mountains grow, and their verdict will and should spread.
This will lead to pubs prospering, again.
Lonen Booth
St Andrews Road South, Lytham

A manifesto to win election
Whilst in no way a supporter of 'New Labour' with the emphasis on 'New' I will gladly give them, free gratis, a manifesto which if adhered to will see them win the next
election hands down.
Renationalise the utility
companies, they are virtually all owned by foreign countries, give us a referendum on Europe, raise the income tax on the super rich, drop the income tax on the average
working man, clamp down on
runaway immigration, raise the pensions to a sensible level, reduce the council tax or scrap it and
replace it with one based on ability to pay.
Stop going on about climate change and carbon footprints, the world has always gone through cyclical changes!
How are we to pay for all this? Stop fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan plus extra revenue raised from higher income tax off the super rich.
Will they do it? Course they won't! Will they get kicked out at the next election? Of course they will.
F M Brindle
Lawson Road, Marton

Bus station horror
I have just had the
misfortune to use Cleveleys Bus station.
Despite being opposite the police station, it had been taken over by seven youths who were causing havoc.
One was water bombing buses and also people who were queuing up to get on.
Another was skateboarding between buses.
Their language left a lot to be desired. Elderly people were having to stand up as the youths had not got the
manners to offer their seats.
Yet no-one spoke to them, not even the drivers of the buses, about their behaviour. One person near me said he felt intimidated by them.
There was also a duvet left by the benches no doubt, for an overnight "guest".
This was a lovely area to live in. I have lived here all my life, 61 years. Now it seems to be going down hill.
Name and address supplied
Cleveleys

Affordable shame
I refer to your report entitled
"Project Viability hits low earners" (The Gazette, August 11).
At last Wednesday's Wyre Council Planning Committee meeting an
emergency item was on the agenda. Housing developers on the site of the ICI power station have permission to build 552 houses.
Of these 40 per cent, namely 208, should be "affordable" to enable young people in particular to get on the housing ladder. Developers had already slashed the 208 down to a pitiful 100. The purpose of the emergency agenda item was to slash it even further to a miserable 56.
Although not a member of the
planning committee I was given
permission to speak. I used my three minutes to the full by strongly
attacking the proposal.
Then it came to the vote. From where I was sitting I could plainly see the two Fleetwood Labour councillors who are on the committee – Ted Taylor and Ron Shewan. To my absolute amazement they both voted in favour of the huge cut in affordable houses.
I hasten to add a number of Tory members sitting on the same
committee did not vote for the cut.
Coun Mark Hamer
Fleetwood

Call to fight coal fired power stations
Although most of our mines have closed more than one third of Britain's electricity still comes from coal-fired power stations.
Across the world a huge increase in coal use is expected over the next few years to meet rising demand, yet more carbon dioxide is released from
burning this fossil fuel than from any other source.
A new coal generating plant is planned at Kingsnorth, Kent and could be the first of many. Emissions from this one power station will cancel out the CO2 savings achieved by every
single wind turbine in the country.
Climate change threatens
catastrophe for billions worldwide.
If more conventional coal-fired power stations are built many people will argue there is no point taking
action to reduce global warming by saving energy or promoting renewable electricity.
Efforts to persuade India and China to join with us in fighting climate change by curbing emissions from the coal upon which their economies
depend will also be fatally
undermined.
In the European Parliament I am
responsible for leading negotiations on EU measures to promote carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.
Instead of allowing the CO2 to be
released into the atmosphere this
enables it to be buried permanently and safely miles underground. The technology will be expensive at first but costs will quickly fall.
I give my support to the taking of non-violent direct action aimed at
preventing construction of new
coal-fired power stations that are not CCS equipped. Governments across Europe must know they will pay a heavy political price if they support coal without capturing and storing its carbon emissions. If this means
sitting down in front of bulldozers to stop work proceeding, then so be it.
Chris Davies
Liberal Democrat MEP for the North West

Punks can come back
I am a 70 year old hotelier and would like to thank the organisers for what has been one of the best
weekends Blackpool has had for years.
They were very well behaved - their only "crime" is they like to congregate in doorways and do their own thing.
I had some in as did many of my neighbours and there was not one bit of trouble.
Let's hope they come back for many years to come.
I have been a hotelier since 1986 and we need more events like this with staying visitors at a time when so many conferences and other gatherings have
deserted the town and will probably not return.
Ron Dodson
Florida Hotel
Charnley Road
Blackpool

Free for all not good for buses
In response to the report entitled Free bus shock for tax payers (The Gazette, August 5).
It was easy to see that from the start it would become too costly, so why was it changed to cover all areas?
Any ideas from the Government looks good on paper, but in reality like all other mistakes the tax payer has to pay.
The system was alright where it was free local area and pay 50p to get to Cleveleys/Fleetwood, that was fair, but once it changed, people get greedy and want more if it's free.
Workers and school pupils might want free travel before 9.30am.
People might not want to pay after 11pm, around pub closing times.
People want cheaper fares on planes for their holidays.
Car owners now change to the bus to save on car parking.
Being over 70 and a non-driver means I've always walked and used the bus regularly, but now I can
notice people who are not used to bus travel – unsteady on their feet.
It would have been better if local councils gave over 60 cheaper car park payments and people outside area pay half fare on the bus.
Regular bus passengers need to travel to town and other places but now more people just use bus
because it's free sometimes it's like going on a coach trip on a day out to Cleveleys, I wish I had patience of the bus drivers they should be given a pay rise during the holiday season.
J McMillan
Hobart Place
Anchorsholme

Pensioners do deserve free travel
In response to the report The real cost of pensioners free bus travel,
(The Gazette, August 5).
May I point out some facts.
To be entitled to a full state old age pension of £90.70 per week (many married women get less) you have to have paid a minimum of 44 years worth of class 1 National Insurance stamp every week of each year.
Should you have paid into a work's pension as well any income from that pension is added to the state pension and may be taxed at the new rate of 20 per cent, 10 per cent more than last year.
If you are a pensioner
householder you will be paying
council tax at the full rate. So many OAPs are now using a service which they have already paid into.
Many of the older pensioners were conscripted into the armed services or war work factories (both men and women) some 66 years ago.
For the many people in this your country who have forgotten, this country was at war for five long years with Germany, Italy -and Japan from 1939 to 1945.
After the war these same people worked long hours (a 48-hour working week) to rebuild the, by then, broken and bankrupt country.
These are the OAP who are now
enjoying a free bus ride to Blackpool to spend money in the town and pay VAT.
On top of all of this, the state age pension in the UK is one of the
lowest in Europe .
Maybe if some worth while full time employment was brought back into the town, as was the case in the 1950s and 1960s, instead of relying entirely on low paid seasonal holiday trade, (much of which is now done by non local workers) the many unemployed in the area could get back into work and contribute to the system.
As a young man in Blackpool in the 1950s there were many full time jobs in industries such as
engineering, construction and
manufacturing.
Sadly these days are gone.
Mr Stamper
Anchorsholme

Bus scheme brings visitors
Once again the issue of pensioners free bus pass has come to the top of the agenda.
However, nobody seems to
mention how the pensioners have to still pay for bus travel first thing morning. Many more pensioners still only use the passes for local
travel.
We all pay council tax , just like everyone else in Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre.
We also pay our gas, electricity and water bills and other things like
travel to hospital appointments.
The free travel scheme has been a God send to many of us who haven't got cars.
For goodness sake let us get on with our lives and stop spending money on things that are not
necessary.
Without pensioners Blackpool would be dead apart from the
Saturday nighters.
Mrs M A Thomas
Queens Promenade, Blackpool