Madam,

I don’t mean all of the time, of course, but I do think all Ceredigion County Council members need to take a hard look in the mirror and say “am I representing the views of my constituents or am I a puppet of the finance director?”.

We have seen in recent years the reduction in services for the elderly, the sick and needy. The recent closure of Bodlondeb is the latest cut that will impact on the county for years to come.

Is the council supposed to have a future strategy for the sick and elderly?

Cllr Catherine Hughes’ recent reported comments in the Cambrian News come from a script and sound like a broken record.

Not everyone can be cared for in their own home, especially those suffering from dementia or other appalling illnesses.

Will the council have to “bus” future residents out of the county, will all the associated pain that will cause them and their relatives? I hope not!

Next we have the situation with the bins and the implication from Cllr Ray Quant that the mess caused in Aberystwyth, the hedgerows of our beautiful county and many other areas is down to residents not following council guidelines. Poppycock.

Yes we did have a bit of bad weather but the main fault lies with the council. More cost-cutting.

Then there’s the pathetic new recycling bags that split when you sneeze.

The council will say they are more bio-degradable, I say they are cheaper.

We only knew at the end of the day if waste was being collected or not over the festive season and by that time a lot had been blown all over the place.

I tried to contact the council over Christmas and, of course, no-one in the offices was working. The council knew which rounds were not being collected way before the day and the website could have been updated to that effect. They could also have allowed recycling bags to be deposited at the recycling centre. Instead, I suggest, much of the recycling wasted was deposited in black bags.

Come March, residents will face another inflation-busting council tax increase and be told, as we were last year, that we can all afford it. I can but I know many others who are struggling to make ends meet. When will our councillors recognise this?

At the next election residents, I hope, will vote in councillors who understand their needs and occasionally stick their hand up to say: “Sorry it’s our fault”.

Yours etc, Chris Fryd, Llandre, Bow Street, Aberystwyth.

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