LETTER: Towns that get things done right

I guess the money has all been spent on ‘improving’ the bins and benches in West Street (£665,000).

Horsham was twinned in 1986 with the French town of St Maixent L’Ecole and the German town of Lage, which is not far from the Teutoburg Forest.

I suggest that the leader of HDC, councillor Ray Dawe, and his able deputy, councillor Helena Croft, call upon our sister town and ask if they will gift us a suitable Christmas tree this year – I can’t imagine any German town’s Christmas market being without one!

Talking of towns that get things done right, and one much closer to home, I was interested to read that our immediate neighbouring local authority, Mole Valley District Council (MVDC) with their centre of local government, Dorking, have poured scorn on councillors Dawe, Croft, Vickers and Rae’s bright idea for a 500,000 sq ft industrial park in North Horsham in our ‘green belt’.

In MVDC’s formal response posted on HDC’s website (10.10.13) they query ‘as to what extent the proposed development in North Horsham is aligned with the principles of the Gatwick Diamond Local Strategic Statement (LSS). In particular, the LSS looks to deliver a more knowledge-based economy, we are unsure whether it is intended that the development of the Business Park will contribute to the delivery of this objective’.

Well, if our colleagues in the Gatwick Diamond business partnership don’t understand the purpose of councillor Dawe, Croft, Vickers and Rae’s vanity project then it is no wonder the people of Horsham don’t either!

Incidentally, councillor Dawe – the last postal date for a request to your counterpart in Lage, Germany is 14 December 2013. Good luck!

VALERIE WISE

Owlscastle Close, Horsham