CAN it be right that homeowners who have suffered flooding are forced to fork out for a risk assessment before they sell their properties?
That seems to be a possibility after Communities and Local Government Secretary Hazel Blears said she would consider calls for a 'flood search' to be included in the controversial Home Information Packs (HIPs).
Of course, it is right that people l
ooking to buy a house should know whether it is susceptible to flooding. Yet asking homeowners who have suffered flood damage to pay for an expert to carry out a risk assessment is surely punishing them twice.
Many residents in Yorkshire have suffered untold misery in recent years due to severe flooding.
It is likely to be an issue for some time to come, too.
Yet hardly ever is the problem affecting their homes any fault of their own and often they moved in completely unaware that a flood risk even existed.
Potential buyers must not be kept in the dark.
But it would be wrong to suggest that homeowners themselves incur this extra cost when it comes time to put their home on the market.
An evil tradeDRUG smuggling is a wicked industry that blights our society by putting illegal, addiction-forming substances on to the streets of our towns and cities.
Yet, thankfully, most of us are rarely directly affected by its evil.
However, the discovery that dealers peddling opium in Leeds are disguising their goods by wrapping the raw form of the drug to look like sweets sends a shiver down the spine.
Disguised as fruity chews, chocolate truffles and even Smarties, these innocent-looking treats in their brightly-coloured wrappings are anything but.
A senior police officer warns that if they were to accidentally fall into the hands of a child they could result in death.
It is a reminder of the depths to which drug producers and pushers will sink – and a reminder too of the need to win the war on drugs and take them out of business. For good.
Doubling upLAST year a host of community groups benefited from the Yorkshire Evening Post Community Cash Giveaway. The good news is that it's back and the pot of cash has more than doubled.
The YEP has teamed up with the Leeds Community Foundation, which is offering £50,000 to be shared out to hardworking and deserving voluntary groups and clubs in Leeds and West Yorkshire.
As the credit crunch continues to bite we find ourselves with less spare pennies and pounds to donate to good causes.
This cash can make a difference – so make sure your group doesn't miss out.
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