Wrong to say that 'cabinet' decision can't be reversed

She pointed out that many of the housing developments that are exciting so much opposition are a direct consequence of government policy and that, therefore, the blame should be placed at the door of the Whitehall grey suit brigade.

Of course, the government's policy of inflicting thousands of new houses on our new region is almost as lunatic as their policy of demolishing thousands of existing homes in the north of the country, the so-called Pathfinder project.

Nonetheless, as the planning committee decision on the Taylor Wimpey development in Brighton Road, Shoreham, showed, people can mobilise substantially to put pressure on their elected representatives and these can respond accordingly.

This is what many of us would interpret as local democracy working as it should.

The move to a leader and cabinet system of decision-making will make the local authority less accountable to the electorate, and is just as likely to make it more responsive to Whitehall diktats, a further extension of the process of centralised authority and decision-making in local government affairs that began with the Thatcher governments of the 1980s and has continued under successive administrations since.

One decision, in particular, is likely to be the merger of Adur council with Worthing council, an endeavour that is already at a fairly advanced stage.

Many Adur residents might want to ask why our council is so keen to merge with an authority that regularly sanctions the demolition of perfectly good houses at the behest of the developers, while threatening to shut both its museum and its swimming pool in the same year.

In fact, it was prevented from going ahead only by an unprecedented level of public protest that scared them into withdrawing both proposals.

These are the kind of unpalatable truths that Adur council wishes to avoid having to address, which is why its consultation exercise on the move to leader and cabinet was such a sham.

Councillor Funnell is correct to say in last week's Herald that at the full council meeting of February 18, many of the points were addressed '“ and that doesn't mean that the (leader and cabinet] decision is the right one for Adur and nor does it mean that it can't be reversed, Councillor Parkin.

S. J. Guy

Southview Road

Southwick