Chester Chronicle letters

Sep 17 2004

SOME of your readers might wonder how I reconcile my position as an elected member of both Chester City Council and Cheshire County Council, especially when there seems to be some disagreement between the two about the future of local government in Cheshire.

It is really quite simple. I was elected by the people of Malpas and Broxton to represent their interests, not to be the council's representative to them.

The spectacle of Chester City and Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Councils' premature nuptial agreement is doomed to fail. This marriage made in hell between two completely different organisations simply does not bear scrutiny, and is a cheap and shoddy attempt to persuade the people of Cheshire that this is a fully formed unit of local governance. It is not a union that will benefit the people who elected me.

District Councils are going to be abolished if we have a referendum in the North West and a local government re-view. These have only been postponed in the region, not cancelled, and one or both will be back on the agenda before long if this government has its way. When that happens, district councils will be consigned to history, and marriages of convenience between adjacent districts in Cheshire will inevitably be annulled!

Local Government is about giving local people what they want. It is about giving them more say in how decisions are made that will affect them in future. It is about providing high quality services effectively and as cheaply as possible.

Some may think that the people of Cheshire will be persuaded to support the breaking up the County Council into three new authorities. This would cost at least £29m just to make the changes, and would add up to £114 per year on a band D council tax bill for the foreseeable future. I think this will come as a considerable shock to people, many of whom feel they are already paying too much.
EVELEIGH MOORE DUTTON County Councillor Cheshire County Council

I THANK Cllr Sandra Rudd for her letter last week and reinforcing the points I made in my previous letter about the sad state we find ourselves in with regard to the provision of housing in Chester.

Cllr Rudd thinks it is a great achievement that our MP had to beg to the Government that Chester Council be allowed to build houses on Chester's regeneration areas.

What Cllr Rudd inadvertently points out is the extent that central government now controls our local councils. Regional Assemblies will worsen this centralised control, which is one reason why I oppose the Assemblies. We, in Chester, must develop our housing in accordance with our needs. Cllr Rudd applauds the situation where our MP has to grovel to John Prescott so our Council can be allowed to make a housing decision - I and Chester Conservatives do not see this as being worthy of applause.
PAUL OFFER Prospective Parliamentary Conservative Candidate

ON BEHALF of Malpas Recreation Ground Committee, I would like to thank the local blacksmith John W Hughes & Son for repairing the slide free of charge.

It should have cost £85 and VAT. We would also like to thank Bill and Joan Rich and their friends and family for hosting a dance at the Jubilee Hall on Saturday, September 11, and anyone who attended or helped in any way. We would also like to thank John Bickley for doing a sponsored three peaks challenge on September 11 and 12, the Crown Hotel, Malpas, for giving £500 and anyone else who sponsored him. They would like to thank Chester City Council for the new shelter on the Recreation Ground.

I think it is marvellous how the community has supported the committee in the last few months. I'm very pleased how people keep joining the committee, although we do have a few places if anyone else wants to join.

The next meeting is on Monday, September 27, at 7.30pm in the Crown Hotel. Everyone is welcome to attend.

I would like to stress that although I am secretary of Malpas Recreation Ground Committee, I am speaking purely as an individual, and my views may, or may not be shared by my colleagues.
CHARLES HIGGIE Oathills, Malpas

READING The Chronicle last week, I was stunned when our local MP said fox-hunting '...tops the league table of concerns...' for the people of Chester.

Does she really think we in Chester are more worried about fox-hunting than about the escalating fear of crime and anti-social behaviour that is wrecking so many people's lives? I don't know who she has been talking to, but she has shown us just how out of touch she is with Chester's residents.

Maybe Christine would like to tell us how she had reached this conclusion?
MARK WILLIAMS Meadow Lane, Huntington Chester

AM I the only senior citizen who objects to Chester City Council Transport's description of our half-fare tickets as old-age pensioners?

The workhouse was abolished many years ago and surely this description of pensioners who have worked for many years and paid for the privilege of drawing a pension - which they have earned - should be abolished.

I look for Chester City Transport to get its act together, especially as we are the generation to use the bus service most frequently. If it doesn't like the description senior citizen, perhaps MP or Mature Person could be used.
JOAN GRIFFITHS Chester Road, Huntington, Chester

I READ with interest the interview with Mia Jones. For someone who has only lived in Chester for a few years it's a cheek to call others 'Outsiders'.

I am surprised to see the Liberals have selected Mrs Jones as their PPC as she only scraped back on the City Council by a small margin. When one looks at her record on the city council what has she done for us - Nothing! She talks a lot but does little - just like Christine Russell.

All we are getting from the Liberal Democrats, as usual, is spin and no delivery.

JOHN BURKE Bartholomew Way Westminster Park Chester