MANY of your readers over 60 (and others) will remember going to Sunday School and singing "Build on the rock and not on the sand."

In the 1980s the Conservatives ran Lancaster City Council. They listened to the advice of the town clerk and decided to create and appoint a supremo director of development.

They also appointed the city engineer. One would expect our councillors to appoint officers with the common sense that would ensure they were aware of the message of this Sunday-school chorus, even if they did not know the tune.

A quick look at maps of the last century shows that, where the Salt Ayre pool has been built, was then another branch of the Lune.

A little more investigation reveals that at the beginning of the century the present channel was dredged and the silt dumped to fill this other branch.

It is therefore surprising to read in your paper that David Corker states "there were a number of unforeseen problems, particularly with excess ground water" in building the pool. What did our city's engineering experts expect to find if they dug a swimming pool deep into a silt-filled section of an old, tidal, river bed?

Worryingly, our technical officers (at county and city) are applying the same casual approach to building the new bus station I fear.

The city engineer has not, to my knowledge, produced any document that analyses current and future use, in order to determine the number and type of stands needed and the related space needed for passengers comfort.

The council is simply going along with Stagecoach, who could presumably save money by leaving out-of-service buses at the station, instead of on their own premises.

Because of the small site, this excessive parking provision for Stagecoach will mean that facilities for passengers, connecting cars and taxis, refreshments etc will be cramped.

This will hardly be an incentive for a switch to bus travel in the next century.

M R Jackson

Peacock Lane

Lancaster

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.