Letter: Relief Road - Relief from what exactly?

Surely there should always be space beyond the world of noise, traffic, business and shopping that we are immersed in for much of our lives; a place to enjoy a moment of calm to reflect on things away from the commercial cacophony that's growing around us at an alarming pace?
Nidd Gorge. (1611015AM4)Nidd Gorge. (1611015AM4)
Nidd Gorge. (1611015AM4)

Clearly our local council don’t agree, and they would rather sacrifice such a balm to the soul in order to build a road to redistribute traffic around the town.

It has been reported that the most favoured route for the proposed new ‘relief’ road passes through the Nidd Gorge project area, and will devastate this local haven of peace and tranquillity for wildlife and people alike.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Nidd Gorge is not only a breathtakingly tranquil place of historical importance, right on our doorstep; it is also an important conservation area home to many protected species of wildlife and ancient trees.

Without these green spaces to buffer us from noise and work and remind us who we really are, what will we become?

The Japanese have a word for the kind of meditative peace you can get from heading out into a forest – shinrin-yoku.

There is no direct translation, but it means something like ‘forest bathing’.

‘Relief road’. Relief from what exactly?

Seems to me like we’ve got it all backwards.

Roz Witney

Harrogate