PUBLIC MUST HAVE A SAY

FOLLOWING my letter (‘Market must not close’, Letters, March 13) about the failure of this council to retain the services of Jane Boys after her outstanding performance in revitalising the Market I had the opportunity to read the comments of Alyson Barnes, Andy Macnae etc.

All agree that Jane Boys has done a fantastic job and it makes one wonder why they have not made any effort to persuade her to stay.

There were many comments on the necessity for freshness, innovation and creativity.

Instead we are going to engage in a massive bureaucratic exercise so beloved of councils everywhere which will leave the market rudderless for months in order to find what we already have.

We will inevitably end up with someone who will feed [the] council with schemes that look good on paper but will prove impossible to implement.

The future of the Market is too important.

If any decisions need to be made it is essential that independent members of the public are part of the process.

At least two representatives should be asked to participate with a primary object of urgent talks with Jane Boys to hammer out a satisfactory solution.

She appears to be continuing the good work, and I have heard nothing to say that she would not be happy to carry on if the terms were right.

This could be done in a matter of days.

Only if those discussions fail should we move to a tender.

It seems incredible that these conversations need to be had.

We have a local individual for whom it is clearly as much a labour of love as anything else who has defied all the odds and has proven that she can do the job set against a new set of unknown and unproven players.

If you have a proven winner you should back them.

Stuart McCloskey Newchurch Road, Higher Cloughfold