Councillor Wendy P Smith - "I'm amazed this has provoked animosity"

Mayor Dame Janet Stancomb Wills DBE - Ramsgate 1923

Firstly the letter written by J Garner to the Biggleswade Chronicle was not the letter they published (February 11th). This is the original letter, with highlighted areas that they omitted / changed. The whole sense of the letter was altered and it appeared as though health centres were being closed down. I know the Chronicle reserve the right to edit letters but surely not like this. I think they should republish the letter as it was submitted.

OUR Local council and I use the word OUR with a smile on my face, is trying once again to get the new health centre on the outskirts of the town.

Does not OUR town council listen to those they serve and who pays them. We want it put in the Centre of the Town as do those who have to travel by bus to see a doctor.

Mrs Wendy Smith you do not seem to read the letters that were sent to the Chronicle about this matter as everyone wants it in the town centre and as to the sports pitches etc I think if you read and listen to the news you will find that this government are planning to shut down these places to save money and as all the bus routes seem to be being cut back how are we going to get there when we have to get two buses that at the moment which run one (changed to once) an hour,(question mark inserted and changed to new paragraph) how are the Drs surgery going to cope with all the patients turning up at once?

Just remember councillors you were elected to serve Us and most of us have good memories when the next election comes around.

Now coming to the letter from Mayor Wendy Smith in this weeks (18th February) Chronicle. What she calls  "animosity" is what others call free speech and perhaps even constructive criticism. Something our Councillors have not been used to for many years. She still does not get the message that we do not want a health centre out of town. She can never convince anyone that concreting over wild flora and fauna and building a health centre with nearly 300 parking spaces is "saving an area of land to the East of Biggleswade as Green Belt." The "deliberately misunderstood" comment made by her has overtones of the blind, daft and stupid comment from another town councillor.

It appears our Councillors are getting a bit twitchy with the elections coming up and are trying to justifying what they have been doing without local support. I await to see which councillor next will seek to justify their actions.