Sir,

Perhaps, had I remained on the Town Council, I too could ‘believe six impossible things before breakfast’, as Lewis Carroll put it, but unfortunately I cannot quite manage it.

On the first page of last week’s Observer I read that the De Valence Trust would be able to run with a reduction in the council’s contribution, and this was hailed as a ‘success story’ by Clr. Blackhall. Later in the ‘paper he said that their success had ‘contributed to keeping down the budget for 2016/17.’

How can taking money from an organisation possibly be classed as helping to keep down their budget? If somebody cadged £10 off you last year, and this year asked for only £5, would you consider that they were assisting you in your financial position?

I could not find any mention as to how much will be allotted to the De Valence Trust this year, and the ‘reduction’ is meaningless without any indication of the amount involved. The last time I heard a concrete figure for TTC’s grant to the Trust (admittedly some time ago), it was an eye-watering £34,000 a year - over £10 from each person on the electoral roll (no wonder we have the highest local precept in the county). We need to know to what this has been reduced before we join in the back-slapping.

Tutting gently, I read on, and found that the Regeneration Team, which involves several councillors, is looking into buying a stage to assist those who inflict events on those of us hanging on grimly to living in the harbour area. Surely they would do better to focus on persuading these events to make even more use of the De Valence, and reduce its reliance on council funding even further.

Trisha Putwain,

Tenby.