Alex and Cynthia Marwood of Swallow Road, Driffield writes...
A Mention in your columns of 12 November of a forthcoming "fun evening" to be staged by the Driffield Partnership has a familiar ring about it.
Two years ago we returned from eight years living in a South West town about the size of Driffield wh
ere we took a critical look at the local "partnership" and the "renaissance" group that went with it.
The partnership turned out to be dedicated to spending other people's money on plans for fanciful schemes. Local professional people of good standing – such as a retired headmistress – were enticed to join and given fancy titles to make it look credible.
In fact, its public presentations were nothing more than tick-box exercises lacking real substance and aimed at recruiting more members.
It used the same vocabulary as other partnerships which we learnt existed throughout the country, such as "community action", "feasibility study", "blueprint for the future", "vibrant economy", etc.
Why do we need these groups when we already have local councils of elected men and women to run our affairs? They are nothing more than non-accountable quangos backed by the present government.
After we left our little Devon town to return to Driffield, the partnership took over the running of the town, which it had always aspired to do.
So, let's be knowing how much the Driffield Partnership has already spent and on what; where the money came from; who are its officers; and why we should trust them to decide what is good for our residents.
