RE: Tory councillor Paul Lambourne’s letter which accused Cllr Snaith of being mischievous for criticising plans to spend up to £750,000 looking into the proposals for a new community stadium.

IT appeared from the tone of Cllr Paul Lambourne’s letter of April 2 that he was making a party political point rather than considering the pros and cons of the proposal.

His reference to the spending record of a previous administration is not backed by any details. It could be that they were putting right matters which had been neglected by an earlier Conservative administration.

His reference to the near six figure deficit that was left for the current administration to deal with is a long way short of the potential loss of £2,500,000 lodged with the Iceland Banks by this administration.

A potential ‘investment’ of £750,000 is also greater than a near six figure sum. He acknowledges that the scheme may not come to fruition. The taxpayers would therefore have to foot the cost. I think many ratepayers would label that a deplorable and obscene action, which was the remark of Cllr Lambourne found to be mischievous.

Regarding the forward thinking which gave the town the Swan Theatre and the Eden Centre, if my memory serves me correctly, neither of these projects escaped the overrun in expenditure which seems to be the case in public funded projects whichever party starts the project.

The Eden project was for a number of years the most expensive empty plot of land in the centre of High Wycombe, after it had been purchased by the council.

I endorse the aim of the council in their approach to make provision for community facilities which will encourage more of our young people to participate in sport.

A sports village is a brave conception, but I fail to see how it is necessary for it to be linked to the needs of two sporting professional organisations.

The needs of young, and not so young, members of the community may not be best delivered by creating a sports village on the fringe of the district, not served by a reliable transport system. I hope that in their feasibility study the council considers how they should serve the community in making adequate sports provision.

Let us hope that the current forward thinking does not finish up as another expensive and aborted exercise. The plans for the new Park and Ride coachway, offices and running track have faltered. The financial arrangements for running the proposed sports village are by no means clear and the economic benefits which would arise need to be transparent.

I wonder if the timetable proposed for this study is sufficient for the council to reach such a decision. It is a great pity that the Conservative administration which moved the location of Wycombe Wanderers to its present location had not been as enthusiastic as the current one. If they had, this correspondence would not have occurred.

Reg Rundle, Stanley Road, High Wycombe.