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From:  Friend of Exeter

To:  letters@expressandecho.co.uk

Sent:  Wednesday, July 23, 2008 12:03 PM

Subject:  A Point of View

Just who is running our city?

The first two paragraphs of Tom Arnold’s article, “Council set to approve £70,000 sculpture, in spite of its detractors” (E&E 15th July p15), painted a clear picture.

Councillors on the planning committee had city planning officials shouting ‘yes’ in one ear, and the public shouting ‘no’ in the other.

Councillors are supposed to represent the public, whose overwhelming opposition was made absolutely plain at the public meeting on 1st July.

To whom did the committee choose to listen? Monday’s decision to press ahead with the artwork regardless, thereby thumbing their noses at Exeter’s citizens, shows who really influences the councillors.

We are effectively being governed by unelected officers and not by our elected representatives, many of whom seem to be puppets of city officials. Democracy has degenerated into bureaucracy, and the inexorable advance of George Orwell’s ‘1984’ scenario casts its ever darkening shadow.

Sadly, this is no isolated case. Curious readers might like to contemplate Jim’s Pagoda.

Jim Harle

Whipton, Exeter

(by email)

Letter submitted to the Express & Echo

which was published on Saturday, 26th July 2008

View the Letter of Objection to the Heavitree Arch