IN reply to Ken Adams (Echo Letters, May 10) he would be right to be concerned if the council had spent £250,000 from its general funds in these financially challenging times.

However all of the money spent creating the new Seldown Park came from contributions collected from developers. This money can only be used to improve recreation facilities and if it was not used in this way would have to be returned to developers.

Personally we feel this is money well spent and we know many people greatly appreciate the well designed and high quality improvements to this area, creating a small but wonderful new park, a community hub for all, right in the heart of Poole.

Regarding Mr Adams’ reference to the green waste collection service it is important to reassure people that no resident is being ‘forced’ to do anything. People have been invited, should they so wish, to opt in to a fortnightly kerbside collection service of their green/garden waste, at a fee of £31 per year, from March 1 to November 30. Those that opted in before March 31 benefited from a discount reducing the cost to £21.70.

The garden waste scheme was previously funded by Government grants and without introducing a charge for the service, two-thirds of Poole’s householders would have been paying towards a service that only one-third of residents enjoy for free.

This was clearly unfair and inequitable. The pressures on the council to provide services with decreasing Government funding means either facing reductions in essential services or introducing a small charge for one that is non-essential and using any money over costs to run the service to support Poole’s most vulnerable residents.

Sign-up for the scheme has now reached well over 20,000 households although there are a number of alternatives available to those who do not wish to opt-in to the scheme including the Household Waste Recycling Centre or home composting.

CLLR JUDY BUTT (Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Public Engagement and Participation) and CLLR XENA DION (Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Environment and Local Economy)