Leader: Pre-school has no reason to be cheerful
Newsdesk • Published 30 Jul 2010 09:30
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AN ACCUSATION levelled at newspapers - and by no means always fairly - concerns their use of hyperbole.
But last weekend one of our reporters witnessed the moment parents were informed that the rebuilding of their pre-school at Sonning Common would not be going ahead, because the promised £450,000 to pay for it was to be cut for austerity. On this occasion, to say those parents were stunned, gobsmacked, devastated, or merely shocked would be no exaggeration whatsoever.
Unfortunately their reaction is now becoming all too common, because such news is a daily occurrence when councillors at all levels are under Government instructions to cut spending, but are left to decide how to wield the axe on schemes and projects they may have nurtured and treasured since they were mere notions.
Whatever they decide is unlikely to win any popularity contests, and many councillors must be fearing a polling day backlash next May from residents whose homes are at risk from flooding, or budding musicians left flat by reductions in funding for the Berkshire Maestros charity.
The disappearance of speed cameras from Oxfordshire's roads will delight many but may turn out to be a mixed blessing, while the reappearance of the famous beach on the Riverside at the Oracle, the return to meaningful action of Reading's footballers and the growing excitement over the 2012 Olympics may well inspire delight and dismay in pretty much equal measure.
It is, however, no exaggeration to say that, whatever your preferred poison, we could all do with a bit of cheering up.
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