Letters: Flawed plan will park new school in the wrong place

ONE problem with the council's plan to build on Portobello Park is it breaks the original agreement that the area of ground must be used as a public park.

This piece of land has been protected for more than a hundred years.

I can sympathise with the council's dilemma - it wants to build a school and it wants to save money. But it has a duty to provide suitable education for children and also to preserve the park for future generations.

The tactic of pitting people desperate for a new school against others who are appalled by the plan to remove a long-held right from the people may be clever, but it is wrong.

I cannot understand why a group can acquire land on which to build a supermarket but the council cannot acquire land on which to build a replacement for Portobello High School. I suspect it is the lack of the political will to do so.

I am disappointed by this council. It is hell-bent on pursuing a flawed agenda and ignores every objection, moral and practical.

John Kelly, Park Avenue, Edinburgh

Sense vanishes at election time

I AGREE with most articles penned by Brian Monteith, but his latest on common sense (News, February 18) made no sense at all.

In the coming elections, you can bet your bottom dollar that it will be a straight fight between the SNP and Labour.

Common sense would dictate that we have had 13 years of a Labour government that has left the whole of Britain bankrupt, and the poor of our cities even poorer then when Labour came to power in 1997, and therefore those voters should be voting for another party, other than Labour. They can't blame the Conservatives for the mess that we're in, but they can Labour or the SNP.

But common sense flies out the window when it comes to elections. It's as if the voters' brains stop working, and they either vote for more of the same punishment or don't vote at all.

Common sense would dictate that the voters should be voting Conservative, or in 12 months' time, Brian Monteith will be saying: "The voters only have themselves to blame", at which point, I will be writing again and saying: '"told you so, if they'd used common sense . . ." It does exist Brian.

Mike Sanders, Caiyside, Edinburgh

Tighten up rules for arms sales

THE Prime Minister's judgement in embarking on a tour of the Gulf States to promote arms sales, in the wake of violence and unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, is highly questionable.

This is especially sensitive given the fact that there are serious questions to be answered over whether the UK has sold the weapons and riot control equipment being used against protesters by various regimes.

The Tory-Lib Dem government promised us foreign policy with a conscience but have picked up where Labour left off. Nobody has forgotten the way the last Labour government intervened to end the Serious Fraud Office investigation into the Al Yamamah arms deal, and we must have total transparency. Selling arms to trouble spots will inevitably inflame conflicts when we should be working to reduce tension.

Rules on arms exports must be tightened and strong safeguards put in place to guarantee exports are not used against civilian protesters.

Alex Orr, SNP List candidate, Leamington Terrace, Edinburgh

Airport is flying high for Capital

I WOULD like to congratulate Edinburgh Airport for the recognition it received from Airports Council International as being one of the top five airports in Europe for customer service and facilities (News, February 17).

As the gateway to Scotland for 8.5 million travellers each year, the significance of a positive first impression to the city cannot be overstated.

Edinburgh Airport is an asset to our city and its performance remains crucial to our future economic development.

Tom Buchanan, convener for economic development, Edinburgh City Council