FURTHER to your article ‘Plan for partner firm to own huts’ revealing plans to ‘sell’ to yet another special purpose vehicle tied to the council, we Christchurch Independents would give this message to all residents of BCP – they would be well advised to ensure they are fully informed as to how the Conservative administration intends to deal with this year’s council tax – with smoke and mirrors and piling up an even bigger mountain of debt for which we will all have to pay.

You can find the report to cabinet now on BCP website, setting out the budget plans, which we ask you to read.

The administration are claiming council tax has been frozen; how can they square this with the fact that there will be a for per cent increase payable for our social care precept?

And these are some of the other anomalies and worrying phrases contained in this paper 'The proposal is a bold non-traditional approach to the financing of local government, and is not without inherent risk.’

There is ‘a proposal to use unearmarked reserves to support the budget which will reduce future financial resilience of the council.’ ‘A decision has been made to move our debt thresholds.’

‘This approach was clearly different from the conventional approach.’

So the Conservative administration intend to borrow huge sums payable over 50 years, funding our council on the never-never.

When Christchurch Borough council was merged into the BCP council, 84 per cent of us resisted the reorganisation, with worries that our borough, solvent and well run, would be asset stripped.

These fears were well founded in view of this plan.

We would like to know what you, BCP council tax payers, think of these budget plans which even the administration themselves admit are ‘risky’. Contact your councillor now.

The budget discussions will go to cabinet on February 9. This meeting may be viewed online We ask you to remember – this is your hard-earned money being spent, and this debt will be yours, your children’s and maybe your grandchildren’s over the next 50 years

LESLEY DEDMAN

Christchurch Independents Group