WHAT has St Ives Town Council done with our money? Anne Miller (January 26) and Michael Burke (December 29) asked the question – so I thought I’d find out the answer.

The election three years ago saw the ‘Independents for St Ives’ elected on a promise to refurbish the Corn Exchange to a high standard. They’ve done that – it’s now a jewel in St Ives’s crown, and heading for a hundred bookings a month.

The Corn Exchange cost refurbishment around �1million. The town council also installed a town hall lift for disabled access, extended the cemetery, provided more allotments, ran last year’s 900th anniversary historical re-enactments, and took over the loos by the bus station to keep them open. So that’s where the money’s gone (Letters passim).

People can keep an eye on the council for themselves by reading its quarterly newsletter, The Bridge. I found the 2009/10 accounts in last June’s Bridge, on the council’s website, and the town clerk will supply the full accounts on request. Everyone can ask questions at the annual town meeting – put April 20 in your diary now.

How much is each household paying for this? Well, my Band B contribution to the town council has gone up from �65 in 2007 to �75 in 2010.

Late last year the council asked St Ivians what they wanted. Around 1,100 questionnaires were completed, and we’ll see a draft town plan in 2011, outlining aspirations for the future.

I’m not connected with any political party. I’m proud of the town, and I want it to get better and better. I’m looking forward to voting in the 2012 town council elections for whichever candidates share my wish for a continuing ambitious programme of improvements for the town.

ANTHONY STANTON

Tenterleas

St Ives