The people of Swindon would be surprised to learn that Swindon Council has carried out a consultation to determine the town’s housing needs in the future.

But there have been no leaflets through residents’ letter boxes, no public announcements, and you can search in vain for any information regarding the housing strategy on the council’s website.

And it gets worse, because the decision on Swindon’s future housing needs will be in the gift of just one councillor, who is the cabinet member responsible for housing.

That’s not democratic, is it? No, it is very far from being democratic, and begins to look dictatorial. So the best advice I can give the council is that the decision on Swindon’s future housing needs should be made by the full council, including the council cabinet, so that all shades of opinion can be aired.

Brian Shakespeare Swindon Tenants Campaign Group David Stoddart Gardens Swindon