IT is a pity that Cllr John Walsh has nothing better to do with his time than write misleading letters to your newspaper (Footpath repairs on wrong track, Bolton Evening News, October 12).

The repairs to the pavement on Chorley Old Road to which he refers were funded through the Council's capital allocation, and was in the capital programme agreed early this year. The Council is not allowed to use that money on anything other than strategic roads; as a senior councillor, John Walsh should know that.

The capital programme was distributed to all councillors for comment before being agreed -- I understand that Cllr Walsh made no comments about this project, and that his Conservative colleagues for the former Deane-cum-Heaton ward (which then covered this area) supported its inclusion. They were right to do so, as it needed repair.

Pavements in many parts of the borough are in a poor state due to years of cuts to the highways budget forced by successive governments. Again, Cllr Walsh was present at meetings in the last few months which have highlighted how bad the situation is, so he should be aware of this. Since 1990/91 (when council tax replaced the poll tax), governments have forced cuts to Bolton's budgets of £58.9 million at current prices.

The majority of those (£41.7 million) were forced by the Conservative government which he supported. As the council tried to protect education and social services from the effects of these enforced cuts, most of the impact fell on other services, like highways.

One of the big issues facing this Liberal Democrat-controlled council is to find money to reverse this trend. I hope Cllr Walsh will support us when we do that, rather than sniping from the sidelines.

Roger G C Hayes

Executive member for Direct Services and Area Working

Bolton

on non-strategic roads (not just highways)