SIR — I'm sure many people will be appalled after reading your report regarding the overspend on the new council offices and Cyril Sweett's project manager Myles Clough's seeming inability to produce the relevant figures in dispute.
Without the diligence of councillors Hugh Davies and Neil Parbrook and their determination to seek the truth, no doubt as in so many instances, the whole matter would have been swept under the carpet.
This particular carpet must surely by now be almost impossible to negotiate and in a very dangerous state, and as a matter of urgency should be brought to the attention of the Health and Safety executive before someone is gravely injured.
Executive director Adrian Dyer, in an attempt to foil any investigations into this fiasco, now trots out the usual banal warning that settling the bill would be cheaper than the "high risk strategy" of going to arbitration.
How many times have we witnessed suggestions of a similar nature being targeted at gullible councillors who, predictably, rolled over and acquiesced without a fight. What a bunch of wimps we have representing (?) us.
Hugh Davies stands out like a beacon of honesty in the enveloping murky darkness and should be supported 100 per cent. Likewise Messrs Gannon, Tizzard and House should be nominated as saviours of sanity in the New Year's Honours List.
We are being constantly reminded by West Somerset Council how parlous is their financial situation, this being the sole reason for rejection after rejection of urgent funding for essential projects.
May we, the long suffering electorate, be informed on what grounds all members of the cabinet awarded themselves the sum of £6,510 on top of the basic allowance, fully endorsed by the councillors?
This was implemented in January 2009 and now that a further 12 months have elapsed it is conceivable that this unwarranted and undeserved sum will be further augmented with perhaps an even greater increase, all, naturally, funded by the inhabitants of West Somerset.
Considering this blatant squandering of very limited finances it is vital that our weak council pursue Cyril Sweett with whatever forces they can muster and not travel down their normal conciliatory road to disaster.
Thelma Frost,
Secretary,
West Somerset Watchdogs.