• YOUR very disturbing front-page story has led me to suggest a way that Islington Council can easily save £90,000 a year (£16m budget black hole sparks cuts fear, November 10).

This could be achieved by immediately stopping the construction of the Caledonian Park clocktower visitor centre. In fact, the work has hardly started.

Sadly, we cannot recoup the £350,000 that has been poured down the drain before the job even started. It has gone on fees for project management, architects, public consultations and administration. But we do not have to continue throwing good money after bad.

As things stand, the council is planning to contribute about £650,000 towards the project. The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) will add about £1.8million. This sum includes doing essential repairs to the clocktower.

But the real problem is that the council is planning to waste £90,000 a year to keep the unwanted and unpopular visitor centre going after its completion next year. It has also agreed with the HLF that it will keep funding the visitor centre for 20 years after it’s completed – if not, the HLF will demand its money back.

Over 20 years that’s getting on for a £2million debt for future council tax-payers. Our council should use the money it has already allocated to do essential repairs to the clocktower and make it safe. It should abandon its plans to fund the visitor centre.

How can our councillors justify spending such large annual sums on this grotesque vanity project promoted by councillors Paul Smith and Claudia Webbe? Especially when social care for the young and old in the borough are at risk.

Hopefully, some councillors will now rise from their supine positions and demand an end to this continuing crazy waste of public money.

MIKE POWER
Clock View Crescent, N7