IN last weeks Cambs Times Councillor Geoff Harper challenged my views on the Conservative-controlled Fenland District Council. It comes as no surprise that he doesn t want any opposition in Fenland Hall. These are just some of the necessary questions that

IN last weeks Cambs Times Councillor Geoff Harper challenged my views on the Conservative-controlled Fenland District Council.

It comes as no surprise that he doesn't want any opposition in Fenland Hall. These are just some of the necessary questions that desperately need answering:

- Why did the Fenland Council revenue account lose £17million last year?

- Why does a band C property in Fenland pay nearly half as much again in council tax to the district as a similar property in neighbouring Huntingdonshire or East Cambs?

- Why do the top 10 members of council staff get paid over £1million between them?

- Why have the public been denied the democratic right to speak at meetings?

- Why does the council want to sell off land earmarked as public open space for housing?

- Why is the council so slow to spend (in the communities where it belongs) the £1.2million of Section 106 money that has finally been collected?

- Why was the three-bin system foisted on us without proper consultation on the size of the bins or frequency of summer emptying?

- Why does the council continue to refuse to publish councillors' e-mail addresses?

- How can Fenland Hall can be considered "open for business" with such woefully insufficient customer parking?

- Why did the council allow a private company to claim ownership of public open space in March when it had proof that it was council-owned?

- Why, despite Cllr Harper promising that the recording of the last council meeting would appear on the web uncut, has never been seen?

CHRIS HOWES

Pound Road

Chatteris