IN these rather gloomy days it is nice to know that someone retains a sense of humour.

I had to laugh when I read (Malvern Gazette, March 30) that "The town council is under a duty to avoid unnecessary cost ..."

You could have fooled me and, I should imagine, most of the Council Taxpayers in Malvern, who are having to fork out a large amount of money to enable the town council to live in the style it thinks it should on Belle Vue Terrace.

The problem with the town council is that it is not economy minded. Just look at the gay abandon with which it employs solicitors and consultants, both expensive professions.

I respect the vision that the town councillors have and their desire to make Malvern a better place. But their enthusiasm must be tempered by what the taxpayers can afford and, for the many pensioners in Malvern, that is neither a 61 per cent nor a 48 per cent increase in expenditure.

KEITH BERRY, Nursery Road, Malvern.