LETTER: More harmful than helpful

Before the council (HDC) sets forth on a spending spree concerning West Street in Horsham they should remember that the Government has still to deal with the effects of the recent severe recession(s) and its own savage austerity measures which have ruined individuals, families and businesses. Horsham is only a market town.

Had the recent bad weather/floods affected the Horsham district more severely then heaven only knows the state some of us would find ourselves in as the Environment Agency has failed to protect some people altogether and whole communities have had to look after themselves with just help from the emergency services often too late to be of much good.

The retail trade must still be under strength as the queues in many business premises on a Saturday morning and well into the afternoon when the weather is fine are quite horrendous and the members of the council need to come into Horsham town centre on a Saturday morning and other times during the week to see that having more homes built in the district and a much increased footfall would make a visit to Horsham quite off-putting and could/would easily drive some people away!

The vast majority of the Horsham district population do not want any green-belt land lost to housing and only a hospital (North Sussex District or preferably just for Horsham) and perhaps, excuse a dirty word, a reservoir for catching rainwater to avoid wastage could be acceptable.

Where new industries are concerned unless public transport reverts to its original purpose and sheds its capitalist cloak so that people can commute to and fro cheaply and not just for the convenience of those employed and their profit-seeking management(s).

It is certainly not much use to some people before 0800 and after 1745 on weekdays and moderately useless at weekends.

As we well know the car parking charges for Horsham are more harmful than helpful and with the two new town centre developments that look hideously boring and totally devoid of worthwhile architecture, not to mention a lack of choice of new store names for the tax-paying consumers of Horsham, it will always be a case of HDC peddling self-gratuitous, schemes that we don’t want but have to pay for!

KENNETH BALDWIN

Robert Way, Horsham