I REFER to your edition of January 27 in which on page six there is an article in which Test Valley Borough Council protests the effect that it will suffer from “severe” government cuts, whilst on page 16 there are numerous letters complaining about the forthcoming closure of the leisure centre pool.

I believe the two matters are directly related.

The facts of the matter are that whilst TVBC complains about cuts and the need to reduce its staffing it does in fact own a substantial amount of land in Andover, earmarked for development either for housing or light industrial use which could, properly and professionally handled, finance the building of an enlarged new leisure centre which would better reflect the needs and aspirations of a growing town , rather than the present miserable scheme.

Such a new and larger centre, located within the town boundaries, would permit the existing centre to continue to be used for the time being.

Subsequently it, together with the now redundant law courts, could be in turn be redeveloped as a sympathetic extension of the town centre.

Further, bearing in mind that the funds generated from land development would in this model be used to finance, not purchase the new leisure centre, it should be possible to further enter into an arrangement with the NHS to support the provision of a new emergency centre, which is a reasonable proposal for a growing and ambitious town. The development of council-owned land would of course be in substitution of proposed private sector development , that is to say preserving the existing structure plan.

The above might cause you to question the ambition and general fitness for purpose of Test Valley Borough Council and in this connection question why we need to have three tiers of local government: the Town Council, Test Valley Borough Council and Hampshire County Council, each with separate functions but without any overall command and control with the result that land and housing is the responsibility of a middle tier organisation – TVBC – which is not answerable to the county council.

Clearly what is required is a unitary authority, duly elected, which would have responsibility for the running and development of the entire county and be able to attract both councillors and executive management of a calibre which would permit and encourage the future development of a significant town like Andover to match the aspirations of its growing population.

Robert Hickman CBE, Chairman, UKIP NW Hants