West End Extra - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Published: 01 May 2009
Water feature: artist’s impression of how the new fountains for Marble Arch could look
Why spend on fountains rather than our people?
• IS Westminster City Council’s decision to spend £1.8million on new fountains and new landscaping at Marble Arch the best use of public money at a time of recession? Elderly residents in Westminster are facing a 10 per cent increase in home care charges and a 6 per cent increase in meals on wheels charges?
Labour councillors say that the £1.8million could have been better spent on improving security on council estates, as well as keeping costs down for front-line services.
Westminster Conservatives have already flushed millions of pounds of public money down the drain by investing in now-failed Icelandic banks.
Now another £1.8million is about to go up the spout!
How can the Conservatives possibly justify spending this huge amount of public money on this unnecessary extravagance when there is so much poverty to deal with in Westminster?
The fountains at Marble Arch have not worked for decades yet I have never had a letter asking me to make this a priority for council spending.
On the other hand, our weekly advice surgeries are regularly full of people calling for more action to improve safety and security on our streets and estates.
The Conservatives are simply out of touch with reality.
Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg
Leader of the Labour Group
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