Points on castle plan

4:33pm Tuesday 22nd July 2008

IN response to the letters from Councillor Pearce and Maurice Clarke about the county council purchasing Hartlebury Castle, I would like to make the following points.

Firstly the County Museum is a building which is separate from the main house. It is about one third not a half of the buildings on the site.

The county council has a lease which has several years still to run, so it is not accurate to imply that unless the county council purchases it the museum would immediately move out. It would be possible for someone to own the house to be separate from the museum.

After all the arrangement where the museum co-existed alongside the bishop living there, seemed to work very well.

I fully agree that the Hurd Library collection should be preserved, but does it have to be preserved at council taxpayers expense in Hartlebury Castle? Is buying the castle by the council more beneficial to the people of Batchley, Brockhill,Webheath and other parts of the town then spending £3.5 million on protecting front line services such as adult care, the youth services and roads and pavements not to mention school buildings. I would strongly suggest that it is not!

Whilst not agreeing with all of another correspondent's letter, I strongly agree that the other major consideration is the ongoing running costs to the council, if the venture does not make a profit.

Again a possible drain on essential services and to the council taxpayers of Worcestershire for years to come.

Worcestershire County Council should concentrate on running its core services and if it is being petty to point this out, then I plead guilty.

Robin Lunn

County Councillor, Redditch North

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