REFERENCE the letter from the Alvechurch Parish Council clerk regarding the benefits Lickey End may expect from such a council. This is from a council levying the highest charge out of the 19 in the Bromsgrove area (£30.78 for an average Band D property).

The amenities she so proudly boasts - recreation ground, traffic calming and street lights - are at present supplied to non-parished areas such as ours for no extra tax.

As for planning applications, anyone is entitled to comment (Lickey and Blackwell objected to 25 and Bromsgrove District Council refused nine, this would have happened in any case).

The £7 tax (Band D) imposed on Lickey End is just to cover the estimated cost of the forthcoming parish election and the cost of a parish clerk for nine to ten months.

This money will cover things such as stationery, postage and telephone calls with absolutely no benefit to the people of Lickey End.

If a future Lickey End Parish Council decided to indulge in paying for public amenities (like Alvechurch) and building a parish hall then our additional tax burden would rapidly escalate. Remember, parish tax is not capped.

I wonder how much the Alvechurch clerk's letter has cost the parish considering the clerk is paid £7.70 per hour.

Come the election, the outcome for Lickey End is in the hands of that area not Alvechurch.

One only needs to look at the unnecessary replacement hardwood parish council noticeboard on the Old Birmingham Road to appreciate the expensive antics of these little organisations.

Angus Malcolm,

Old Birmingham Road,

Staple Hill,

Bromsgrove.