A FEW years ago I remember the county council went to great lengths to convince the residents of Buckinghamshire that a county council structure was far preferable to the unitary authority system. Apart from Milton Keynes being split off, the county council got its wish.

So, what do we have now? A complete shambles seems to be the answer. Consider the following examples:

1) Adult Education. I am currently offered a 30-week evening course entitled French Intermediate at Great Marlow School for £140 (two hours per evening). East Berks College in Maidenhead offers the equivalent evening course for 35 weeks for £95 (two and a half hours per evening). The hourly price of tuition is two and a quarter times more expensive in Bucks than in Berks!

2) Archaeology. The archaeological unit in Bucks has recently been decimated. Active archaeology is no more. Records will evidently be kept and legal requirement excavations will be undertaken, but the reduction in staff from four or five to two is a death knell to archaeology in Bucks for years to come.

3) Public Transport. A decrease in funding was announced earlier this year. John Prescott's words do not evidently reach Aylesbury!

4) Art & Youth. Spring Gardens Arts Centre, Marlow Youth Club, and others threatened with closure through reduced or withdrawn grants. Put the kids on the streets where they can cost somebody else money!

5) Waste. The county council has decided to deter those who wish to use the council's waste facilities by erecting 'low barriers'. This action will almost certainly stop a few vans using these facilities, but the cost of cleaning up the waste that is now not allowed into the sites will probably exceed the savings. The additional message sent to discerning residents trying to be public spirited is a negative of the worst kind.

Amazingly, adjacent county councils have maintained or increased levels of support in areas mentioned above. Apart from the Adult Education example above, Oxfordshire County Council and the various unitary authorities in Berkshire have maintained their archaeological departments intact.

The hollow promises given by the county council to stop unitary authorities coming to Bucks have not been realised. Wycombe District may not be the best council in Britain, but it could not have done a worse job. Why on earth should we put up with such a second-rate service that adversely affects so many people living in Bucks?

So, who is to blame for the continuing debacle known as the county council? Is it the elected councillors or the officers they employ? For whoever is to blame there is a very strong message abroad in Bucks, 'go and go now!'

John Laker

High Wycombe & Marlow Green Party

Spinfield Lane

Marlow

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.