'I'm mourning our lost communities' - Your letters plus three nostalgic pictures from the past in Shropshire and the West Midlands

Rates system is just ridiculous

I was astounded to read in the Star recently that the main fire service station in central Telford will cost the fire service an extra £400k due to its rebuild.

Firstly, why is the fire service being charged rates (or should it be council tax?) on its buildings when they are there for the benefit of us all? Their rates are being paid by us through – guess what? Our council tax and other taxes. So we are paying tax, some of which goes to pay the fire service tax paid to us! This is a ridiculous merry-go-round.

Secondly, presumably the fire authority knew a posh rebuild to the Telford station would put up its rates? So why did they have such a posh rebuild? Why did they not just build onto the previous building the extra pieces they needed and keep the rates increase down?

Also, it raises the question of what other public buildings are subjected to rates? Police stations? Community halls? Hospitals? Doctors surgeries? Other health use buildings? MPs surgery offices? And how about council offices – is the council charging itself council tax? And then charging us council tax to pay it?

This needs looking into and some policy worked out to stop this ridiculous system which is itself costing money to operate.

Richard Camp, 

Wellington

Lessons from my bus journey to market town

I live in Wem, and recently I needed to go to Market Drayton. I also wanted to call into Shrewsbury town centre on the same day. 

So I decided to use the buses instead of the car. I knew the whole process would take time.

As someone who hardly knows Market Drayton, however, I was fascinated by what I saw - an excellent North Shropshire town with so much to offer. 

But two downsides struck me - empty units in the town centre and, far more importantly, a sense of isolation, almost depressing in nature, that is most definitely linked to poor transport connectivity. It may take an outsider to see the full nature of it.

Surely, there should be a better express bus service linking the town to Shrewsbury or even Telford. Just a few extra services each day, one very early in the morning and crucially one late at night, would suffice.

My bus from Shrewsbury to Drayton did not exactly go "all around the Wrekin", but it did its level best.

The excruciating procession up the Whitchurch Road to the Battlefield Island always seems to take an eternity. Adding to that detours to Hodnet and Tern Hill makes the journey too long for those who do not need to get off en route.

Of course this long service, with many stops, is essential for those living along the way.

I am simply suggesting an additional express service with no stops at all between town centres.

Please forgive me if this is an old debate, but as an outsider it seems such an obvious need.

A railway link would be superb but is clearly too much to hope for. But the general issue of transport connectivity is so important economically and socially. Wem is a much smaller town, but early in the morning, even at night, there are people waiting for trains, going places. Unlike the commuter towns of the South, there are fewer passengers and no coffee machines.

But there is a sense of connectivity. In contrast, Market Drayton's bus station seemed bedraggled, and I had the sense that if I missed the last bus I might perish overnight.

Market Drayton has huge potential - plenty of businesses, excellent housing, beautiful countryside, important history, people who want better for their town and their children.

A permanent express bus service provided to Shrewsbury, maybe even Telford railway station, replicating the car journey times, could be a gamechanger.

The approach should be a "build it and they will come" one. Get the service in place, and the economic and social architecture changes. People have more options. Commercial and social connections develop.

This is not merely a bus timetable issue, it is a matter of strategic economic and social significance for a town whose good people deserve far better.

John Gemmell, Shropshire

Fed up with news on former Duke

I suspect that most people, like myself, are fed up of hearing the constant tittle tattle about the former Duke of York.

What an idiot. A man who had everything, wealth, status and titles, all thrown away due to his stupid behaviour.

Surely he is not worth all the headlines every day, or perhaps he is being used as a smokescreen for major changes that the Government is bringing in, but wants to hide from the press?

W F Kerswell, Picklescott

So pleased wall work is finished

I know the Bridgnorth walls saga has cost time and money, but it is worth it to secure the future of the cliff railway, which I love to visit.

Cath Pickett, Dudley

Festive tree law

I hate seeing Christmas trees up so early. Why not make it illegal to put them up until December 1? It say that in jest, of course, but there is a serious point here.

Christmas appears to start in mid-October for some. The shops  are full of it and on the radio Heart has been playing Christmas songs for weeks! By the time December 25 has come I am frankly sick and tired of it all. Make the month magical again!

David Smith, Bridgnorth

Mourning our lost communities

Once upon a time our communities were made better by local services and small business, often family run 'services' that added value to the community. Improving our lifestyle and were easily accessible.

Look around the Black Country. What’s missing today?

Pubs - closed, neglected or HMO.

Post Office - closed or, centralised miles away or, in a superstore.

Chip Shop - sweet shop or kebabed, Deliveroo or, bust.

Cafe - closed, no full English or, one you can't afford, or Costa.

Police Station closed and, centralised miles away.

Newspaper 'corner' shop...closed, no papers, sold out or, Vape shop.

Banks with ATM - closed, centralised miles away.

High Streets - empty, litter filled and dull.

Public toilets - closed or vandalised and filthy.

How many local community assets and resources do you have that are employing local people or run by families?

Superstores have eaten up local small business and services. The cost of food has risen 37 per cent over five years. For example, Tesco profits have risen £1.8 bn in 2021 to £3.1bn in 2024/25. A 72 per cent increase - ‘greedinflation’.

Is your shopping any cheaper or services any better locally?

Now, how much extra have you been paying in council tax for poorer services and where are your services located in your area? Has your lifestyle been improved with easy access to local services?

Think on. A thriving local community offering both local services and long term local jobs is rare these days in our vanishing lifestyle, not just locally but across the Black Country in 2025.

Distance, isolation, centralisation and cost has damaged communities and their quality of life. This is not modernisation it is loss and, social decay across our local towns and neighbourhoods.

While millions of tax payers hard earned money goes on overspend, debt and unaccountable boards and quangos short term projects. We will not regain our traditional lifestyles.

Vanishing communities.

Doug James, Darlaston

Poem: A day out following cars

It’s a pretty little place

And everyone wants to see it

So they turn up in their cars

And they drive around for forty two minutes

Looking for somewhere to park

And all they are looking at is cars

Cars and cars and cars and…

Cars crawling looking for a space

‘Are they going or just arrived?’

And it all becomes a kind of dressage for cars!

Going forward, reversing, tight turns

And the pretty little place is forgotten

The magnificent Georgian buildings stand disregarded

As all eyes are on the cars ahead

The car behind, the cars to the side

A tangle of cars, an infestation, a swarm

And of course the noise!

Would it be too much of a conceit if I said

Cars like the snakes upon Medusa’s head!?

Alan Jones, Halesowen

What kind of country are we?

Britain must decide what kind of country it wants to be. The pandemic has shown that the state doesn't work. The failure isn't just Boris Johnson's; Starmer's 16 months have been worse. Both Labour and Conservatives have failed repeatedly, and we must learn from their mistakes to improve politics and the economy upon which we all depend.

Most politicians lack quality, driven by ego and entitlement, with little vision for the nation's future. Westminster bubble intrigue prevails, with ministers frequently changing departments, prioritising advancement over effective governance.

Professionals, such as civil servants and quangos, run the show, with the Treasury holding real power due to its control over finances. We need skilled, long-term hires in government, which may require revising salary scales.

Britain is dysfunctional, with an unproductive economy, excessive spending, and hierarchical structures that protect failures.

A radical overhaul is needed: abolish permanent civil servants, streamline civil service, cut quangos, and promote accountability. Crucially, we must make Parliament fully sovereign, exit human rights oversight, and reform the Lords by ending hereditary and political appointments. Finally, we should empower individuals to keep their earnings, get those able back to work, and manage borders effectively. Pain and resistance to any attempt to do these things will only mean continuing and permanent decline.

Martin Bristow, 

Wolverhampton

Sad at demise of museums

I was sorry, on reading my Express & Star on 21 November, to read stories about the possible demise of two museums, both dedicated to the history of local industries.

In Kidderminster, the closure has been announced of the museum dedicated to the town's carpet industry. While carpets are no longer manufactured in the town, the industry was important to the town's growth. It is disgraceful a way cannot be found to keep the museum open.

Meanwhile, here in Walsall, the town's leather museum is threatened with closure disguised as relocation to a place as yet unknown. While not the force it once was, the industry does remain alive in the town, with some saddlery manufacturers having survived the demise of widespread horse-drawn transport and other having moved into other leather goods production, including the making of the late Queen Elizabeth's handbags. (As a much less distinguished customer, I am happy to say that a Whitehouse Cox coin purse prevents my few pounds wearing a hole in my pocket.)

I hope that the campaign, led by the splendid young woman Lauren Broxton, herself a leather worker, succeeds in keeping the museum open in its present site, where the building itself is the largest and most important exhibit.

These potential closures follow other disasters like the closures of the Birchills canal museum, the Willenhall lockmaker's house and the municipal museums of both Dudley and Walsall, with artefacts placed in storage for years on end. I wonder whether our local councils want our collective history to be erased. Isn't it time for local politicians of the major parties to unite and conserve the heritage of those who laboured in our local industries?

Alan Harrison, Bloxwich

Sympathy for naive Nathan

Poor old naive Nathan Gill gets 10 and a half years for putting forward pro Russian stuff at the EU. I find that a bit much as it was an open secret as to what he was up to as an MEP and he wasn't exactly Master Spy was he?

On the other hand, we have the Don so far up Putin's rear end  I reckon at any time he'll suggest that after his failures regarding Canada and Greenland he'll be begging the Vlad to have Russia as the 51st State and suggest a 'beautiful' tunnel between Alaska and Eastern Russia.

Alan M Etheridge, Sedgley