To whom it may concern,

Is it me or has the world finally gone insane?

It appears nearly every government in the world appears to be looking for a third world war, and so do the press and TV?

Do we never learn?

I have stopped watching the news as the BBC revel in bad news and constantly tell how hard their news reporters work for their £500,000-a-year wages, plus expenses and travel to bring us bad news 24/7.

We have a Labour government that I was always led to believe stood by the working man.

Labour paid off the unions at the expense of the pensioner, the winter allowance introduced by Labour 30 years ago, and now taken away.

So when these union men retire, they also are allowed to freeze to death in their own homes.

Of course, you can always fill in the 247 questions to get a pension credit, but most find they are just over the allowance and not entitled, because of a few pounds.

But it’s a win-win for Labour, not paying the winter payment and with luck after this winter, less to pay out on state pensions!

Locally, let’s recap.

We have a local government who, for reasons only known to themselves, are hell-bent on destroying the towns in North Somerset.

We have the Clevedon sea front nonsense that is still going on, which has cost millions of pounds of our money and yet to be put right, that by and large, no one wanted?

NSC never asked; they just assumed, the tail wagging the dog.

The latest travesty is charging for parking in our town centres.

Again, the council were told we do not want this, as many businesses will go under as people will stay away from town centres.

So as per, NSC have ignored this and carried on anyway as they are broke.

This scheme is going to make all the difference, which is strange, as it will cost around £500,000 to implement - probably twice as much, example, beach at Clevedon - with no guarantee of any return.

This is the same council who in the NS Times earlier this year were proud of the fact they only employ around 20 employees that are on more than £200,000 per year.

Perhaps these people could pay a bit of heating for the pensioners.

NSC also spent a large amount of money (£500,000 or maybe a lot more) on the cycle path between Clevedon and Weston, of which 80 per cent is on existing roads and is used as a rat run.

The roads are still the national speed limit of 60mph.

Having used the cycle path, I found it extremely dangerous on some of its length, particularly the road to Kingston and the old toll road in Weston.

I also understood a biker was mugged at the Weston end?

Nice! However, this is all academic as the cycle path may be flooded within the next year or two.

Which brings me nicely on to EDF, a foreign company (French) financed by Chinese money building a power station that is near half completed.

So, it is a good time to renege on some or all of the companies' proposals and promises and scare the government in power at the time of being lumbered with a half-completed power station.

This allows whatever is required to complete the project and dictate to people who have worked and lived in this green and pleasant land for generations, without any concern for families, people, and business interests.

They propose creating a salt marsh, destroying a village and most of the countryside south of Clevedon to litigate the fact they either do not have, or do not want to pay for an Acoustic Fish Deterrent (ADF).

Surely one must ask, who the hell are these people.

I understood that in the last war this heavy-handed jackboot approach was what previous generations fought to stop.

This week we have the Environment Agency saying the Land Yeo that runs through the centre of Clevedon has nothing to do with them.

They have other priorities!!!.... What priorities?

None of the rivers in the UK are in any fit state, the seas around the UK are disgusting, caused by water companies and not stopped by the EA and Offwat because these organisations are toothless and jobs for the boys, who have allowed most of the rivers in Somerset and beyond to become weeded over through pollution and poor maintenance.

EA are one of the highest paid public companies and well-paid civil servants; however, I am not clear to whom they serve?

There is a growing possibility that Clevedon will flood if the Land Yeo, Blind Yeo and other ditches and drains are not properly maintained as they used to be in the days of the local water board.

The Blind Yeo is severely silted up in the higher reaches of the river, due to poor management.

There is a probability that this area of Kenn Moor and Clevedon may have the same problems as the Somerset levels if maintenance is not carried out soon.

On top of these problems, we have the water authorities who have no interest in water, the countryside or our health; it’s just money.

None of these companies are British but are demanding more money from us to improve the network etc., but have handed out billions to their foreign shareholders over the last 30 years or so.

These companies must be laughing at the UK all the way to the bank.

Regards

Antony Paynter

The Leys Clevedon