SIR — It was with great pleasure that at the last Minehead Town Council meeting I was able to vote for the council to grant £10,000 to the Regal Theatre, despite some councillors wanting to simply loan the money.

The vote was close but it squeezed through.

It was also a pleasure to support Minehead Eye's proposed bouldering wall project, but it is a shame that Minehead Eye did not ask for a financial grant from the town council as I would have wholeheartedly supported such a grant.

In fact I am surprised that other groups in the town have not asked for financial assistance direct from Minehead Town Council. The council has, by my calculations, over half a million pounds in reserves.

I should point out that the council is required to have a level of reserves required to meet future expenditure and should keep a sensible percentage of its 360,000 annual budget to one side in case of any unforeseen cash flow issues during the year.

If it was my decision alone, I would only keep about 50 to to 66 per cent in reserve, but even if the town council kept a whole year's budget tucked away for safe keeping, there would still be quite an amount of money left over.

Why does the council have so much in reserve? Maybe it is being saved for a "rainy day".

Well if now is not that rainy day, I am at a loss to know what is.

With West Somerset Council in such dire financial straits, should this money be used to help projects that could stimulate and revive the town, or could it be used to help local organisations and groups that are struggling to find monies from their usual source of funding?

These are the questions that need answering now.

Minehead is still one of the nicest seaside resorts in the country. I am passionate about it and indeed the whole of West Somerset.

I do, however, fear it is in danger becoming a shadow of its former self.

It may be argued by some that the town council isn't responsible for economic development, but with the exception of the railway car park, I am struggling to think of any achievements in this field by West Somerset Council and Somerset County Council over the last few years.

Surely it is better for town council money to be used in the community for the benefit of the whole community rather than sat in a bank account earning very little interest.

I attended the recent Revive Minehead meeting and there were excellent discussions from residents and business owners on ideas that would help improve the town, both for residents and visitors, but there are many more residents and many more business owners.

It would appear that Minehead Town Council has no strategy of what to do with the money accumulated and I would like to change that.

The residents and businesses of Minehead should demand action with this money. I know in my role as a town councillor I would love to hear from anyone who has ideas on what to do with it.

My contact details are easily found and, as a town councillor, I have set up my own Facebook page to make it even easier.

Cllr Marcus Kravis,

The Arkade,

Minehead.