Mary, Queen of Scots

It states Elizabeth I “kept her, (Mary, Queen of Scots), imprisoned at Chatsworth for 15 years , on and off”.

Mary was kept , of course, in Sheffield, (between the Castle and Manor Lodge), for 14 years with six brief visits to Chatsworth of a few weeks at a time.

Mary did spend six months at Chatsworth prior to coming to Sheffield but, in total, with all her visits, it would amount to less than one year there.

However, she did like Chatsworth and next to Buxton, this was her most favoured abode in captivity.

For more information of Mary’s 19 years in captivity then please refer to my book, Mary, Queen of Scots , the Captive Queen in England, 1568-87, which was featured in the Star in November 2016.

David Templeman

by email

Costs of road repairs

We are led to believe that the Streets Ahead contract is inviolate and cannot be altered as shown by attempts by tree campaigners to have the contract amended to allow a more nuanced approach to the felling and maintenance of Sheffield’s street trees.

If this is the case and the contract cannot be altered then does this mean that new operating methods or technologies cannot be used during the 25-year period of the contract?

I’ve read recently that Thurrock Council and some other councils have installed cameras on their refuse wagons which monitor the quality of the highway as the trucks go along their routes and the images and results are fed back to their council’s road repair staff, who then plan the repair of potholes and other highway maintenance in line with the survey results.

This saves Thurrock Council a lot of money in not having to send out highway survey teams.

Does the Streets Ahead contract allow a similar process to be pursued in Sheffield?

Or will Amey have the right to send out their own vehicles to do the survey work and charge for this service as part of their responsibility to maintain the Sheffield road system for 20 years?

I’d like to think the Sheffield Council staff who drafted the Streets Ahead contract have built in a methodology to amend the contract to allow changes in appropriate circumstances such as the use of new operating opportunities such as those in use in Thurrock.

And if that is the case, which I hope it is, then can’t the same contract amendment methodology be used to reduce the impact of tree felling in Sheffield by seeking to retain healthy street trees wherever possible and as a minimum in line with the results of the deliberations and decisions of the Independent Tree Panel?

RJB

Greystones

Freedom of the press

You stated the thoughtless act by Lords must be overturned.

I do not think for one minute it had not been thought out.

Who would expose the wrongs of those cheating hounds in parliament?

There must always be a freedom of press to maintain order through the country, having seen what they are capable of when not watched by the press.

by email

Don’t let scum define life

Leon Cheslett wears the scars of the attack by Zak Pywell but it’s OK, the judge has locked him up and we won’t see this mindless hooligan walking our streets for many a year.

Don’t be silly he wasn’t locked up for 10 years, no under four, so for good behaviour he will out of prison in two years.

That sentence is a disgrace, there is no justice for Leon and Jake who live with there injuries.

The laws of this land are a complete joke. I hope Leon goes on to have a great life and is able to move on.

You are young man with a great future ahead of you – don’t let this piece of scum define the rest of it.

Jayne Grayson

by email

Lost contact with Jackie

We have lost contact with Jackie, daughter of Joe and Annie Townsend (dec.), who lived on Hyde Park Terrace. She is married to Robert.

Could she please contact Mike or Sheila on 0114 2323793 or email [email protected]

Mike & Sheila

by email

They really don’t get it

So Sheffield City Council has now named 15 parks in which they are going to plant 300 war memorial trees, (Star, February 8).

They really don’t get it, it doesn’t matter whether they plant 300 or 3,000.

In different circumstances this may be a fitting tribute to our war dead, but this in no way compensates for the proposed felling of 23 war memorial trees on Western Road, Crookes and another 18 elsewhere.

This is all about location as the trees planted in Western Road specifically represent the WW1 soldiers who lived and went to school in that area and these trees have grown and flourished into maturity while embodying the spirit of those young men who lost their lives fighting for their country.

The planting of new trees cannot be considered adequate replacements as they will have no connection whatsoever to the dead soldiers and I am shocked that the Royal British Legion have given their support to the proposal as they are condoning the deliberate desecration of a war memorial site if the Western Road trees and others are felled.

This wanton destruction of healthy trees is totally unnecessary and any damage to pavements could be resolved using engineering solutions which are available and which would only amount to a fraction of the cost that the council claims it would need to save them.

What a great shame it is that the future of our city lies in the hands of such an incompetent, arrogant bunch of people as our council.

Susan Richardson

Westminster Crescent, Lodge Moor, Sheffield, S10