COUNCILLOR Roger Colomb is missing the point or, as I suspect, choosing to miss the point about the governance of the High Wycombe Town Committee. Regardless of actual decisions made or overturned, it is an undisputed fact that HWTC has no autonomy to make decisions on projects that are important or vital to the townspeople of HW, when indeed all the town and parish councils in the district can on behalf or their own residents. Any project that HWTC may wish to bring forward for the benefit of the residents has to be scrutinsed and approved by the cabinet, which currently consists of a number of Marlow town councillors.

Imagine the uproar in Marlow if their town council wanted to start a project in the town and High Wycombe councillors overruled it? Cllr Colomb claims to represent the people of High Wycombe, but is he really representing their best interests, or is he fighting to maintain the current status quo which suits his ‘real’ Conservative party interests?

With regard to his claims on budgets and taxation he is scaremongering. How can anyone compare local councils in Princes Risborough with twice-as-large Marlow (with twice the number of households contributing to its coffers) and even larger High Wycombe town? The real reason HWTC appears to be such excellent value is that it doesn’t actually do very much on behalf of the local people.

High Wycombe is a poorer place for not having its own council which would have powers to deliver projects and services to benefit local people. HWTC simply cannot do this. — Cllr Darren Hayday, Opposition Deputy Leader, Bucks County Council