Letters: September 22, 2016

Anonymity is granted only at the discretion of the editor, who also reserves the right to edit letters.

Tax too low for too long

SWINDON Council are sending out booklets to all residents saying that they are running out of money and that only by delegating much of the council’s work to the parishes can they afford to pay for it.

The services being transferred include street cleaning, fly tipping, grass cutting, picking up litter and emptying dog waste bins.

If the parish councils are going to take on all this extra work then in future the parish councillors are going to have to be paid.

These changes will mean that Swindon will have a total of 21 parish councils. This will mean we will have to start paying about 255 councillors who were previously working unpaid.

The cost of these changes to the non-parished areas will be up to £112 per property. The increases for areas already parished will be a bit smaller.

All this is because the council tax in Swindon has been kept too low for too long.

While in general parish councils are a very good thing, using them to plug a black hole in Swindon’s finances is both wasteful and inefficient.

STEVE HALDEN

Beaufort Green, Swindon

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Parishes get rough deal

I RECENTLY read that an offender was found guilty and received an order to do community work, along with a hefty fine.

Hey! Wait a minute. Isn’t that similar to what Swindon Council is doing to its residents in the form of parish councils? The council wants the electorate to take on the unpaid work of keeping the streets clean: duties also include cutting grass and cleaning low level graffiti, etc. It could be argued the fine comes under another name, “the Parish precept”.

There’s a difference from the mentioned offender, the vast majority of people in Swindon are law abiding good people, but it is evident they are being roughly treated for the council’s misuse of tax payers’ money, and failed projects.

Who is expected to commit themselves for unpaid work cleaning the centre of Swindon with its heavy footfall?

If they are fortunate the young will be in paid work, that just leaves the infirm and old fogies like me.

WILLIAM ABRAHAM

Rodbourne, Swindon

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Surprise at pop-up view

WE WERE pleased and a little surprised to read your article of the September 3, “Pop-up shop scheme to give small businesses a chance to try to try town centre”.

We were pleased as we had first mentioned the idea in a motion we proposed to Swindon Borough Council’s full council meeting back on April 11, 2013, following work we carried out with Pop-Up Britain.

We were surprised because the cabinet member quoted in your article praising the scheme was the same cabinet member who put in an amendment to our motion removing the request for a scheme promoting pop-up shops to be pursued by the council and persuaded his Conservative councillors not to support our scheme.

Indeed, Councillor Garry Perkins didn’t just disagree with us, he accused us of talking down the town, failing to support the businesses then working in the town, and asked the council to note his work, and that of the North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson, Forward Swindon Ltd and InSwindon to “find sustainable as well as short-term uses for properties in the town centre, including funding from Mary Portas Project and the coalition government”.

We would really like to know from Cllr Perkins exactly why his new scheme is a “fantastic opportunity”, while our incredibly similar scheme was talking down the town?

We are also wondering why the work of Cllr Perkins in his role of cabinet member for regeneration means that over three years since we first mentioned the amount of empty shops in the town, there is still an issue.

CLLRS MARK DEMPSEY AND JIM ROBBINS

Swindon

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Shock at human waste

I WOULD ask the residents of Falkirk Road, who thought the people parked on the field were very nice, what and where were the toilet facilities being used? This morning I went for a walk with my dogs on the field behind the hedge only to find it had been used as a public toilet.

I know in the village we are very keen on dog walkers clearing up after their dogs, a practice I wholeheartedly support, I wonder what the feelings are re human waste.

Let’s hope if the site is on their itinerary for next year someone will point out the error of their ways.

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED

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A little humour, please

TO BE quite honest, after reading the letters pages on a daily basis, sometimes I have to resort to the dictionary. You have to remember that the Advertiser is viewed, either by buying your local newspaper or reading it online, 50-odd thousand at the last count. That must include doctors, lawyers, police officers, members of parliament, you name it. Down to the common people like I, as most of the hard working British tax payers of all colours and creeds and denominations are.

My point. The continual boring political agenda attacks on who said what and how it should be interpreted. Bores me to tears. I strongly suspect from what I hear that I am not the only one. Perhaps I may challenge the regular contributors with their boring dissections of the inevitable due to people having enough on their plates bringing up children and keeping a roof over their heads, not having time to attend public meetings.

I would rather walk my dog and sense the fresh air and the beauty of my island. Could I perhaps make a challenge? Why don’t you all for a change send us 50,000 Advertiser followers a few more sense of humour letters. I will give you all a starter.

Tommy Cooper walked out on stage with a water tap on a piece of string; he said tap dancer, and brought the house down.

BILL WILLIAMS

Merlin Way, Covingham