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Published:
July 18, 2008
Burnham-On-Sea
resident hits out over council's 'wasteful' newspaper
A
Burnham-On-Sea resident has hit out at Somerset County Council
for spending money on publishing thousands of copies of a free
newspaper while public services, such as toilets, are shutting
in the town due to council financial cutbacks.
 The
county council's Your Somerset newspaper is posted through
thousands of letterboxes in Burnham and across the county on a
quarterly basis.
But
Victoria Street resident Tom Kyffin, pictured here, says the money
spent on the publication should be put to better use in the town.
He
told Burnham-On-Sea.com: "It's ridiculous that when public
toilets are closing in Burnham and other council-run services
are under threat due to financial cut-backs, money is being spent
on a publication like this, which is nothing but self-glorification
for the county council."
"The
publication does not appear to be funded by advertising, so the
costs must come from tax payers while vital council services are
closing around us. It's very wasteful and also damaging to the
environment."
But
Somerset County Council defended the publication when contacted
by Burnham-On-Sea.com on Thursday (July 17th).
Spokeswoman
Jan Hookings said: "Somerset County Council is fully committed
to keeping residents informed about its services and how to access
them. For many, our services are a lifeline."
"One
of the ways we do this is by producing Your Somerset on
a quarterly basis. We do encourage advertising, which is included
in Your Somerset on a regular basis to help keep production
costs down and to provide value for money."
"We have also signed up to the Local Government Association's
reputation campaign, which recommends all local authorities produce
a residents' newsletter at least four times a year."
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