Conservative councillor Martin Hime’s recent comments, reported in the Borough News on November 17, are most unhelpful and a slur on the people of Roehampton.

Coun Hime was reported as saying that the Alton Estate in Roehampton "has been a disaster for 40 years". The newspaper’s headline Disaster’ estate to get £33m revamp reinforces Coun Hime’s view.

The estate has been the responsibility of Wandsworth Council ever since the demise of the GLC. The Tories have been running Wandsorth Council for more than 20 years. Surely this is long enough to get to grips with the estate’s problems. They have failed, it seems, if we believe Coun Hime. Who else is responsible other than Wandsworth’s Tories?

Personally, I do not think the estate is a disaster far from it. It may have a high measure of difficult social issues, but the scale of problems is a result of the council’s policies. I welcome the much-needed £33million to regenerate the estate.

However, the Liberal Democrats believe councils should work with local people to tackle such issues as housing, leisure, the environment, transport and community safety in a meaningful way.

Jeremy Ambache Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Putney

Published in WBN - Friday 3rd December 2004