August 9, 2006

The claims made in the article are wholly inaccurate and DTVA stands by the initial statement made to the Echo that "car parking charges are competitive when compared with equivalent car parking offers at other UK airports".

Unfortunately, your analysis was based on comparing entirely different car parking products between DTVA and other UK airports.

The Which? investigation, to which reference is made in the article, lists the "one week on site" price for 12 UK airports. The prices used in this report are based on those that would be obtained if a passenger were to book in advance. If, and again as stated in writing to your reporter, a passenger was to choose this product at DTVA the charge would be £36 for one week.

This would mean that 75 per cent of the airports listed in the Which? report would be more expensive than Durham Tees Valley with the airports of Stansted, Manchester and Newcastle being "in excess" of DTVA's rates by £14.40, £11.60 and £2 respectively.

The article also makes reference to a price of £53 a week at DTVA. As this is the "gate price" (what a passenger would pay if they were to turn up on the day and park) your readers will once again be pleased to know, when compared with Stansted, Manchester and Newcastle, that is £9.40, £4 and £2 cheaper respectively.

May I add that, in the majority of cases, to obtain these rates at these airports will also involve parking some distance from the terminal building and using a coach transfer, something that is not required at DTVA.

I am sure that your readers will be reassured to know that parking charges at DTVA are among the most competitive in the UK and not to the contrary. - Hugh Lang, Managing Director, Durham Tees Valley Airport.

MIDDLE EAST

UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis has called for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza. He wants all sections of the Labour movement to support him.

Nothing is more important than combating war and Tony Blair has involved us in far too many.

He has sent British troops to do Washington's dirty work in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr Blair has a son of military age, but he is training to be a lawyer, not a soldier. He is in America, not Iraq.

He is alive, not dead like many who have done our leader's bidding.

Mr Blair is fiddling while Gaza and Lebanon burn, giving the green light for Israel to create another holocaust.

He has excused Israel's bombing of women and children as self-defence and cocked a snook at criticism, even within his own Cabinet, because he knows the Labour Party has not the guts or structure to replace him.

People were right to back Saturday's national emergency demonstration in London and to demand an immediate ceasefire and an end to slaughter.

British public opinion helped to bring an end to the useless war in Vietnam.

Together we can do the same for the suffering children of Lebanon and Gaza. - James Fitzpatrick, Secretary, Tyne Bridge Constituency Socialist Labour Party, Gateshead.

THE events in southern Lebanon are an unmitigated and indefensible humanitarian disaster. Whether Israel was right to use the tactic of terror-bombing civilians to advance its cause is now open to extreme doubt, even by those who used to be pro-Israeli.

Nothing could be more heart-rending than the sight of those poor people, hundreds of thousands of them in all age groups, fleeing their homes amid scenes of chaos and terror.

And the net result of Israel's efforts? To discredit Israel in the eyes of the world and to ensure a continuous stream of new recruits, including potential suicide bombers, to Hezbollah and Hamas.

And some of us used to think the Israelis were an intelligent, as well as a caring, nation. - Tony Kelly, Crook.

GERMANY

TONY Kelly (HAS, July 26) appears to forget that although it was us that declared war, it was to prevent our nation - Christian and otherwise - becoming enslaved.

In the Second World War, the smart bomb had not been invented and bombing of specific targets was far from an exact science and therefore civilians were bound to be killed.

Concerning two wrongs not making a right, he forgets that Germany was also a Christian country. Surely he does not exonerate them, or was it just us who were guilty?

Finally, Mr Kelly's reference to "common good manners". Surely he does not suggest these virtues were the sole prerogative of Christians and that other faiths and even unbelievers could not have morals, ethics and virtues as well?

He should realise that nationalism and not religion is the main cause of most wars, as was the case in question.

I presume Mr Kelly was not directly involved in the war. However, for those of us who actually fought, it is not very easy to forget and forgive. He should visit one of the many Commonwealth war cemeteries. - WJ McNabb, Darlington.

COMMUNITY CARNIVAL

WHAT a marvellous spectacle was the Community Carnival at the Stockton International Riverside Festival at the weekend.

The costumes, the music, the dancing and the stilt-walking were wonderful, and they deserved the applause of the thousands who turned up to see them parade along the High Street.

The hard work and dedication of hundreds of children and young people across the borough was evident and we should all be proud of their achievement and congratulate them, and also the many groups and volunteers who worked with them.

The whole thing spoke so positively about young people and I, for one, look forward to an even more spectacular event next year. - Councillor Alex Cunningham, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Stockton Borough Council.

TRANSPORTER BRIDGE

WITH reference to your article regarding the Transporter Bridge over the River Tees (Echo, Aug 5), yes it has had numerous closures over the years and does require some care and attention, probably more than the councils are prepared to spend.

Your article mentioned that it is the only working type of its kind, which is most incorrect. In Portugalete, northern Spain, there is an older (built early 1890s) transporter bridge which carries people and vehicles, has shops and a lift on either side and is a fine example of a structure that has had some TLC.

It traverses the River Nervion (runs through Bilbao) about every ten minutes. I actually used the bridge last year and felt saddened to think that it was nearly 20 years older and much more efficient and user-friendly than the Grand Old Lady of the Tees. - Les Crank, Wolviston, Cleveland.