LETTER: Chance for fresh start on May 7

In the interests of your Free Speech Charter campaign, which has not been signed by the rump of the existing members of our Tory council, I was pleased to see you publish the names of the councillors who refused to support the football club’s application for a new ground at Hop Oast (opposite the park and ride and petrol station).

This of course is in Cllr Vickers’ home patch and so despite planning officers having spent six years developing it she and Cllr Helena Croft threw out HFC’s application at the planning meeting. I wonder what that cost the taxpayer?

I was equally pleased to see the letter from Dr Richardson ‘Supporters of flawed proposals’ (12.2.15) listing the names of the councillors who on 30 April 2014 voted to approve the housing plan dumping 2,500 houses and a 500,000sq ft ‘business park’ in North Horsham in what used to be a Strategic Gap.

As we near the May election when all these seats will be up for re-election, I hope voters in the north of the district will take note of those northern councillors who let them down as well as those (not listed) who had the courage to stand against the pressure exerted by the leadership (Cllrs Bailey, Burgess, Kitchen, Mitchell, Murphy and Torn) to seek a different solution.

And for those whose councillors are from southern wards – perhaps they should think carefully as to whether we want new blood to replace those names that have appeared so regularly in your pages over the last 18 months – associated with all the goings on in the Tory party.

This has been the worst, bad tempered council anyone living here over the last four decades can remember. May 7 is a chance all over the district to have a fresh start.

EDUARDO DELGADO

Parry Close,

Horsham