I THINK Mr Taylor's letter (Echo 12th April) and that from Julia Milsom (April 12th) more than illustrate the blinkered and ill-formed views which surround the debate about the future of Christchurch and that in their eyes everything is rosy in Christchurch but nowhere else.

The way Poole have managed their affairs is no better or worse than Bournemouth, Christchurch or Dorset County Council. They of course tend to ignore the existence of the latter authority despite it taking most of the council tax and providing most of the services. I am certainly under no illusion about everything being rosy after the merger, but that in itself is no reason to stand in its way.

Both letter writers, like many of their compatriots, seem to want to ignore the fact that we in Poole like the rest of Dorset did have an opportunity to make our views known through the consultation exercise, so what is the point wasting money on a referendum?

I am aware that there is an argument that it was done in such a way to get the answers the councillors wanted. But that was certainly the case in the Christchurch referendum where so much of what was said by the No campaign was at the best misleading and at the worst untrue. To add insult to injury, much of that was promulgated by someone who doesn't even live In Christchurch. And of course unlike the referendum we had the choice of options.

So I repeat my plea. Mr Taylor, stop boring us by telling us what you don't want and come up with an achievable alternative which doesn't involve imposing the will of a small minority of Dorset residents on the rest of Dorset.

R F COOPER

Laidlaw Close, Poole