Taxpayers are funding council’s building craze

How is Ashford council allowed to get away with doing as they please at every juncture and not listening to the taxpayers?

Where do I start, the bingo hall maybe? A majority of the population of Ashford have been begging for it to be turned in to a theatre. It had not a chance of ever happening and plans were being drawn up to turn it in to yet more housing and an indoor performance space!

The Homeplus store, now purchased by ABC’s property company so they can buy the property and immediately get planning permission to demolish and re-build. Where did the idea of a council owned property company come from anyway? Why do we need that? I tell you why, so we cant demand full disclosure of what is going on. If the property market goes to the dogs, who owes the money? Simple, we do, every one of the taxpayers in Ashford. Who wanted it? Not us the taxpayers, that’s for sure.

More and more farm land is being put up for construction of houses all over the borough. When Chilmington Green was proposed, I and others went to the meeting at ABC and said a few words. All bar a very few sensible councillors voted in favour of Chilmington. But now that’s underway, more land is required. The council is out of control and has gone building crazy.

Now we learn that ABC wants to build a huge solar farm on land in Shadoxhurst. They didn’t even bother to discuss this with the parish council. This isn’t democracy.

Large stores in town are closing, such as M&S. How on earth are new stores going to open, when much of the shopping nowadays is internet based? Why keep expanding a dying town centre when you have more shops closing than opening? You are not making our lives more fulfilled, you are taking away from us all. All of it based in party political headquarters - Tory, Labour or whoever else. I for one don’t want your politics involved in my back yard.

Councillors and MPs should be working and standing up for the electorate, not their party.

Matthew Peach,

Old Surrenden Manor Road, Great Chart