I READ with growing disillusionment about council decisions that seem to say 'We know what we are doing, please don't bother us with your petty concerns. We know better about what you need than you do.'

I say this as more and more decisions are made over time which reduce the quality of life and business in what can only be described as the satellite towns of Wigan. I take the recent case of planning permission for a shopping centre in Church Lane, Lowton and the selling of Wesley Guild in Leigh. The council in both cases has sold off amenity land (owned by the people represented by the old town boroughs) to benefit the growth and prestige of Wigan town which WMBC is just a vehicle for. As in a recent letter if you look at a list of baths, hospitals, business, you see that WMBC stand for a loss unless you look at the effects in Wigan where there is clearly a gain. The council always re-buffs this by saying that it has no direct control over events although it clearly does -- through influence. Investment and opportunity are created by optimism. I see none of this for towns like Leigh. Whereas in Wigan there are two railway stations, a growing hospital service, a thriving magistrates' court, a growing town centre, lots of new hotels, a new sports stadium, a new multi-screen cinema, a rugby club bailed out twice from bankruptcy, a reconstructed town hall and administration centre, an extended country area that extends out to Aspull (whereas this end of the borough has been cut back to the East Lancs Road), all of which has been consolidated or created since the birth of WMBC.

As in previous correspondences, what do our councillors do? Do they influence anything? Are they simply just outvoted or tired, or both?

Local Council Tax Payer

(Name and address supplied)