No to potholes! No to Library cuts! No to hospital delay! - Nick Wiltshire

11.19.00am GMT Fri 5th Feb 2010

Nick Wiltshire - Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Littlehampton Town Council

Nick Wiltshire, leader of Littlehampton's Lib Dem Councillors has slammed County Hall for the awful state of the Town's roads and their plans for reducing the opening times for Littlehampton library. Speaking at a recent Coffee Morning, he said:

" West Sussex County Council are trumpeting the fact that this year's 2.5% rise in Council Tax will be the lowest ever. However, this is a false economy & appears to have only been achieved by slashing everyday services. Potholes indicate how infrastructure has been allowed to deteriorate because WSCC has not properly budgeted over many years to properly fund essential maintenance work".

Nick went on to say:

"Simply cutting library opening times is a blunt instrument & a knee-jerk reaction that will hit young & old alike in terms of providing education & information. This is especially cruel in our Town as Ham & River wards are two of the most deprived wards in West Sussex. Unfortunately, cutting services is a typical reaction by a Conservative administration that will simply hit hardest those in our community least able to withstand such measures".

Nick concluded by saying:

"Let it not be confused that these proposals are for modernising services, for in reality it is for other reasons, such as the harmonisation of opening hours of libraries throughout the County. This would be simply the thin end of the wedge for Littlehampton's library leading to more than just nine hours a week being cut once fewer people are found to actually be able to use the library services due to the reduction in opening hours. We would then see that such a downward spiral in the usage of library services will simply give WSCC the ammunition they need to further cut the library services in the future.

The absence of a hospital in our Town is an issue which just won't go away & the delay in it being rebuilt is symptomatic of the high-handed approach of the local health authority. To sum up, the message that the current situation is unacceptable needs to be sent out loud & clear from the people of Littlehampton to those in the ivory towers in Chichester is NO TO POTHOLES, NO TO LIBRARY CUTS & NO TO HOSPITAL DELAY"!