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We need some answers

I HONESTLY believe Swindon Council must be one of the worst administrations in the country in terms of wasting many millions of council tax money. I would cite the following examples of total waste:

1) Spent around £4million on installing traffic lights and new lanes at Greenbridge on a roundabout where few problems if any ever occurred. In fact, it’s such a mess I doubt most drivers can negotiate it without crossing over lanes which do not flow into each other. What a farce this has been. Council might say it’s government funded but it’s a waste of money anyway.

2) Spent another few millions on the Rodbourne Road junction. It’s not an improvement on what was in place before. In fact, it’s worse!

3) Invested £3million of council tax into a scheme to generate solar power. But I simply ask, why is the council generating electricity? Does the national grid not do that?

4) Transferred ownership of Milton Road Baths into a private company called GLL who has a track record of turning public buildings into gyms and paying it’s staff zero hours contract in London. It’s proposing to turn part of Milton Road buildings into flats but the building is Grade 2 listed so I wonder how that is going to happen.

5) Now building a cycle path in Covingham and making a total mess on a green stretch of land. I wonder how many people actually do cycle along this route anyway.

6) Brought a pile of stones from the old Baptist Tabernacle building and those are left to decay on a runway at Wroughton Airfield.

I travel around Swindon a lot and find most of the roads are jammed due to continual improvements being carried out which turn out to be worse than the previous systems.

Our schools are failing Ofsted inspections but the council reaction is to deny it all.

One of the councillors forgets to pay his council tax and has to resign. He was the councillor in charge of transport.

I would challenge any member of the council to answer some of my points and see what they come up with.

ANDY BRIGHT

Swindon

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Lights not fantastic

THE work that took placed at Greenbridge roundabout, unlike roadworks in other parts of the town, was carried out efficiently and with minimum disruption to motorists on a very busy commuter route. Well done to the contractors.

And once it appeared the work was done, it genuinely was an improvement, with extra lanes easing any congestion that may have existed previously and improving my journeys to and from work. Now what have they done? Installed traffic lights at each entrance to the roundabout - it’s like Swindon’s answer to Blackpool illuminations. What had previously been a smooth manoeuvre at a busy traffic junction is now a stop/start affair with queueing, where before there was none. Infuriating.

Please take away the lights and everything will be fine.

MR J DEAN

Cricklade