Local councils need to listen to what the people want | Burnley Express letters

Could I endorse the comments from Councillor Gordon Birtwistle re. the amount of new housing in Burnley and the affect it is having on the infrastructure.

This is nothing new though. People who have opposed such developments on exactly the grounds Coun. Birtwistle is now putting forward, have been branded as Not In My Back Yard, when in fact we, too, love our town and don't want the countryside we have ripped up.

The fact that there is no housing crisis in Burnley is ignored too, but that's so the house prices stay inflated and it’s a win-win for the developers, and the council or course, as they rake in all that council tax to make up for the many who don't pay. Let's be honest, officers on £100,000 salaries are expensive to retain.

Your story also reflects the ignorance of Coun. Sue Graham, who of course would support any housing which is allocated in the Local Plan, after all, the former head of planning, was instrumental along with the officers who live out of town, in implementing it.

Bur Coun. Birtwistle has to take some of the blame as he along with many long standing councillors didn't really make much effort in opposing the sites before they went into the plan. They ignored people on the ground, like parish councillors and only started shouting when applications went in.

Like so much in politics, it's a little too late and as usual, it's the people of the town who suffer. The politicians don't seem to care if our day to day activities suffer due to road works etc.

And it will only get worse, if we are forced to have devolution, as Burnley will become a dumping ground for all the housing other authorities don't want.

Let's face it, local councils need to listen to what the people want, not what brings in the most money for projects, fun days etc, we can all live without.

Sadly, we can't replace the beauty of our town which is being lost due to decisions made by people who seem to have their own agenda.