COUNCILLOR Michael Barrett (Letters, March 6) says I should be congratulating councillors on their running of Blackburn. What a nerve!

This is a council which hounded Tommy Ball out of town for opening his store on Sundays, took high court action to prevent Tesco opening a store at Furthergate, built the deck access flats - now demolished, put flat roofs on new houses and then had to reroof them, has hundreds of tenants owing three months rent and 600 empty properties.

It also allowed Hyndburn Council to develop the giant retail park at Whitebirk because of their policy of encouraging retail growth, not stifling it. They refused to let the Army put on a display in Witton Park and have allowed the market hall to become almost empty.

Another councillor (Letters, March 8) asks how I know Blackpool council tax is to fall. The council leader there announced this in the local press. As this is the first time that Blackpool has had a Labour council which hopes to be re-elected, it is acting prudently.

Would that Blackburn would do the same.

J UTTLEY, Bolton Road, Blackburn.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.