Sir, – Councillors Richard Gates and Genny Lane really ought to be more careful about their facts before trying to pass the blame on to Liberal Democrats for their own incompetent performance regarding housing repairs.
Before 1999, steady and reliable repairs and improvements were being carried out on Waverley's housing stock. Of course the service was not perfect, and on some older homes it would have been good to progress faster, but all really necessary work was done.
The estimate for repairs and improvements would renew almost everything to the heights of perfection. If there really was £20 million work to be done, it would date back to the 1970s and 1980s when Conservatives ran the council.
I was there then, and most of the Conservative councillors of those days, even in the Thatcher years, were quite proud of the housing stock.
They were not like those of 1999, whose first thought was to sell off the houses, incurring £500,000 to get consultants to justify their wishes.
Tenants voted against the sell-off because they believed the council was best for them, based on past experience. I hope the poor repairs record of the present council – and the virtual halt to repairs over the past months – have not undermined the tenants' confidence, and that the new and more expensive contractor now in place will do a better job.
Councillor Marie King-Hele
Liberal Democrat
Fairholme Gardens, Farnham