LETTER: Once cash has gone, it's gone

We appreciate that budgetary choices are very difficult and that the council is trying to give local residents an opportunity to understand that the money is not finite and that services are expensive. Recycling alone can eat up most of the budget if done fully. We are not happy with the sale of the downland. Once the cash has been used, what then? It looks like a one-off emergency measure rather than a long-term solution. Of course, we don’t have the complete picture that the council has but that is how it looks to us.

I am particularly unhappy about any reduction to voluntary sector grants. Should any statutory services be reduced, the first place people (including local authorities) look is the voluntary and community sector. These must be protected or they will vanish forever. Too many have already gone.

We always used to pay for our garden waste collection and were happy to continue to do this. We are quite prepared to pay £50 a year for this valuable service. The recycling service means that our general waste is negligible and a fortnightly collection of that would not cause us any problems and would significantly reduce the costs. No doubt a solution will be found for the Carpet Gardens which are used to market the town.

We have asked the Council to be rather more creative with the options and less black and white than the choices presented through the Review.

PETER and LESLEY GOBLE

Eldon Road