I am one of those town councillors who former councillor Adrian Ward seems to think that everything we do turns into a crisis or becomes a problem. Yes, we do have problems but they are not ones the current council have created, but rather ones we have inherited from the former town council and district council, as Mr Ward well knows.

The current town council is a fairly new and young council, with 14 out of the 25 being newly elected to the council in May this year, and four others who were elected in Oct/Sept 99 and were returned in May.

We are trying very hard to put right many of the problems we have inherited. Not in the least, the condition of many of the assets which are being transferred to the town council by the district council, many of them in very poor condition, the Christmas lights and fittings being just one of many.

Some of the other problems which we are trying very hard to correct are those that are now occurring because of the lack of forward planning and thinking that marked the early stages of the previous council's term of office. Again this is something of which Mr Ward is well aware.

The task of the town council is an uphill one thanks to the actions, or lack of actions, of the previous council. We have a difficult job to do and no doubt some of the decisions that we are called upon to make will not be popular with everyone. However, every decision that we make will have been debated and carefully considered. The views of the townspeople will have been listened to and taken into account when those decisions are made. Fortunately, we have in our town clerk and staff an extremely hard working and loyal band of people, who have the best interests of the town at heart. They are the people who are keeping the town council on track and advising us young councillors on what we should be doing and the best way forward.

Coun Patrick Mewton, Elgar Avenue, Malvern, Worcestershire.

(via e-mail)