I HAVE been advised by a nice man from the council that the badly deteriorated and potentially dangerous pavement outside our house can only be temporarily patched with bitumen, as opposed to repaved.

Due to budget constraints the kerb edges and sunken gutter that causes flooding every time it rains may not be addressed at all. As this is considered a bigger job and will be added to a long list of quite possibly much more important repairs given the state of the roads around the town.

It is interesting to read Cllr Cliff Morris attempting to justify handing £300,000 of public money to a private firm of solicitors and his quote “Openness and transparency runs through the veins of our culture at the council” Transparent really?

How long did it take the Bolton News to find out how much public money the council had paid our short lived ex chief executive? I have run a business locally since 1994, paying business rates and taxes and employing local people has have many others. Could we all have a large grant please councillor Morris? Maybe a nice lounge bar with Sky TV for my hardworking staff please. We can't install a roof garden unfortunately as we have a pitched roof.

Or better still here`s a suggestion how about you find another £300,000 for crossing patrols to keep the kids safe.

To now call for an independent audit to attempt to justify this ridiculous decision, presumably at further expense, beggars belief. Stand down Councillor Morris, you have lost the plot.

John Spencer

Sandringham Road

Horwich