NUCLEAR NAIVETY: I was shocked by the naivety shown by Tony Blair in his conference speech, (Echo, Sept 28), in which he said nuclear power must be considered as a means of securing our energy supply.

Clearly he is showing yet again that he has not learnt from Britain's past mistakes.

The astronomical costs of a new nuclear power programme would divert money away from creating a low-carbon economy, the only real solution to global warming.

A single nuclear power station costs billions to build, run and decommission, and has to run for seven to ten years before it creates enough energy to cancel out the energy used just to establish it. The wind power equivalent takes three to six months to do the same.

Incidents such as the closure of the Dounreay treatment plant after a leak demonstrate that, even after 50 years of international research and an average spend in Britain of £230m per year over the last 25 years, nuclear technology is still not safe enough to be considered a viable option.

Even if we took up Bob Hawke's suggestion and shipped all our waste to Australia, nuclear waste management would still be dangerous.

There is a ten-fold increase in cases of child leukaemia near Sellafield, an eight-fold increase near Dounreay, and a discernable increase near every source of radioactive pollution in Europe.

It is not too late to make renewable energy a powerful weapon against climate change. It is safe, economical, quickly built, and doesn't leave us with piles of nuclear waste. - Leslie Rowe, Richmond Green Party.

DEMOCRATIC BOARD

RE the article and letter (Echo, Sept 22) from Councillor Mike Syer, giving his reasons for resigning from the Board of Flourishing Communities Fund, I am dismayed by his statement that he can best serve his electorate by taking this action.

As a member of the board he was in a privileged and powerful position to 'examine very closely what is done with this fund'.

Board members have the power to allocate grant funding to anyone who applies, provided that the relevant criteria are fulfilled.

I had a lot of respect for Coun Syer, but I think his action is short-sighted.

I resigned as a LibDem councillor over this issue. I insisted that the board should be democratic and have representation from all three political parties.

It was originally set up to have only eight LibDem members. I achieved this at great cost to myself and subsequently an amendment was added to include an Independent and Labour councillors to the board.

My determination to have a democratic board enabled Coun Syer or any other Labour councillor to sit on the board.

Local government will never rise above petty party politics and point scoring and work for the good of the electorate. - Kate Atkinson, former LibDem City Councillor, Durham.

WHAT NEXT?

I ENTERED Darlington town centre and found a confused situation with closed-off roads and changed bus routes preparing for the new pedestrianisation scheme.

On the way to town I had passed newspaper placards announcing 'Outrage At White Horse Decision'. This led me to think about some of Darlington Borough Council's other decisions over the past years.

When I came to live in Darlington the Dolphin Centre was being practically rebuilt after the wrong cement had been used in its construction (remember how the market area was closed in high winds?).

Then the new cobbled market square had to be relaid after the wrong tar melted in the summer.

I thought on to the debacle over Feethams and the eyesore of the old bus station there.

The George Reynolds (now Darlington Football) stadium came to mind and the way the local residents there were treated.

A council-run nursing home in North Road was closed and the elderly residents moved out, only to see it later reopened as a private home.

Now we have the destruction of the High Row, the proposed closure of Hurworth School and the demolition of the White Horse to make way for flats. I wonder what the next surprise is in store for the residents (and voters) of Darlington?

Oh yes, aren't they planning to close the tip in Whessoe Road for six weeks at the busiest time of the year, although I understand there are no plans to make the access from Whessoe Road any better? - JF Atkins, Darlington.

RE pedestrianisation. Certain streets in Darlington have now been blocked off and the bus service has been revised. On Monday morning the buses were nose to tail along Priestgate.

It does not take a degree in rocket science to see that this is, and will be, the bottleneck of the council's new system until they wake up and move it to another area. Many people are wandering around the town looking for their bus stops. This is in spite of hundreds of pounds being spent by the council on maps and other leaflets, plus articles in The Northern Echo and Advertiser giving the information to Joe Soap.

I do not know about the school kids of Darlington not being very good at reading but their adult relatives do not seem to be able to, can't be bothered to, or are just too damned lazy to use the information provided for their use.

Returning from town today, at least three people in quick succession asked 'our' driver if he went to a particular area instead of reading the panel at the bus stop. For goodness sake, wake up and use your eyes and brains. - ME Harris, Darlington.

UNHAPPY VISITOR

HAVING lived in London for many years I have become accustomed to the mindless thugs who roam the streets causing upset and distress to the local residents.

Coming to the North-East on business proved a refreshing change free from these undesirables.

It is with some distress that on a recent visit to Stockton I discovered that this undesirable element has finally made its way to the streets of this fine town.

The rogue element I refer to are the new council parking attendants set to cause untold misery and ensure Stockton is a great place not to visit. - H Stamp, London.

NOT ABSENT

I WOULD like to add a note of caution amid the furore over the alleged increase of unauthorised absences in schools.

My own children's school, as well as many others, has introduced new computerised methods of recording absences.

Since then I have received many calls from the firm given the contract for clearing up absences. They have alleged my child was not in school when:

* I have dropped him off early;

* He has been a few minutes late;

* The teacher has pressed the wrong key and recorded him as absent;

* The teacher has been unable to alter wrongly recorded information;

* I have already informed the school that he is ill.

I know my child has never had a single unauthorised absence, but I am afraid the computer does not believe me. The situation is becoming farcical. - M Milburn, Peterlee.