WHEN the unitary authorities were introduced to the old county of Gwent, the public were assured this was the way forward. Time has shown this is not the case.

Every unitary authority is in serious financial difficulty exacerbated by the number of executive and jobs-worth positions in each. Now councils have to make drastic cuts to save money yet councillors pursue grandiose schemes of no real value to the community at large. Nearly every road in the five council areas needs resurfacing but what the heck, who really cares? Social and community care has been decimated, the list is endless.

One council has just spent thousands of pounds on a footpath/cycle way and footbridge over a river which will only benefit a selected few. It was funded through grant aid but surely that is still public money which could have been better spent.

What about Newport which destroyed part of our social history then donated a substantial sum to save and restore it?Another has built a state of the art leisure facility in what can only be described as a deprived area. How can such expenditure be justified?

Wasn’t Gwent better served when it had only one county council? At least this provided parity instead of the current mishmash of policies and ill thought-out schemes from the varying unitary authorities. An analysis of overall expenditure by these authorities would highlight their overall ineffectiveness.

It is time to face up to reality and let the people of Gwent have the best deal possible and return to a single authority.

J Williams North Road Croesyceiliog