Letter - Shropshire Council's budget hasn't been cut enough

Many people will hope that limits on public spending being introduced by the coalition government will slow down Shropshire Council's profligate spending.

In the past few years the Highways Department has spent huge amounts of money - just take the road between Wem and Shrewsbury as an example, new pedestrian crossing outside Wem Town Hall, priority restrictions by the church, 20mph signs in Mill Street, a mini roundabout on the other side of the railway bridge, extending the 30mph limit further south on the road to Harmer Hill.

A new footway on the wrong side of the road to be of any use at Harmer Hill, a 40 and a 30 limit at Albrighton, a new mini roundabout north of the railway bridge and new traffic lights south of it. That is nine different engineering costs for council taxpayers to fork out for.

At the same time the council wants to close schools and restrict facilities for older people. They have decimated rural transport and run the most expensive bus service in the country, The Shropshire Link.

We are having to subsidise the cafe at Ellesmere which was well run by the private sector for many years. Clearly the coalition has still not cut Shropshire Council's budget enough.

Michael Skinner, Wem