Does Malvern Hills District Council have any idea what it is doing?

Dear Editor,

Having just announced their intention to spend more money exploring the provision of a new Council HQ outside Malvern town centre, we hear that the Council Leader is talking to her counterpart in Worcester City about merging the two council’s services.

Can you ever imagine a greater mismatch between service provision for the city and the deepest rural parts of Worcestershire?

If the finances are so dire at Malvern Hills, then why did the Leader vote herself a mouth watering 24% pay increase this year?

When the Conservatives were elected to run MHDC just twelve months ago, there was no mention of building new council offices or merging services with Worcester City.

However, they did pledge to keep the weekly bin collection, support the arts and make community safety a priority.

Now they want to move to fortnightly waste collection, they have slashed support for Malvern Theatres by £40,000 and they have cut essential community safety posts.

I may be an old fashioned politician, but I believe that if you make pledges to get people’s votes, you should do your level best to keep them.

Richard Burt
Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate
West Worcestershire