Letter to Welwyn Hatfield Times

26/02/2017

Dear Sir

After my revelation that Humphreys, the Campus West café, is set to lose almost £200,000 in the forthcoming year, following a similar loss in the current year, I expected to read of the council's plans to rectify this appalling situation.

Maybe a better food offer. Maybe a change in the discounts and pricing. Maybe a change in staffing levels.

Instead I read in last week's Welwyn Hatfield Times, in a letter from the finance lead councillor, that the embarrassing issue is to be solved by reallocating the costs in Campus West, I presume so the loss is hidden. Well, there also is an underlying cost to the council for Campus West of almost £1.5 million, outside the various attractions - cinema, roller city, soft play etc. Looks like a lot of reallocating will be needed.

Then I read in the current WH Life, the council publication on page 15, that they claim it actually returns a profit.

So the Tory approach is to fudge round the loss and then deny it exists. No wonder they need £35 from us to empty the brown bins, to cover these losses.

Yours sincerely

Malcolm Cowan

LibDem councillor