Electorate realises that it needs some input

Dear Sir,

I read with interest in last week's Chronicle that Cheshire East's Planning Department has received nearly 20,000 responses to its Local Plan over a six-week period.

While Clr Ainsley Arnold, P5, might be right that this indicates an unprecedented level of interest in it, there is an alternative explanation.

It might be that the electorate have realised that without their input we might never have a Local Plan with ongoing inappropriate planning applications.

One of the advantages of a well-functioning representative democracy is that people can get on with their busy lives, confident in the knowledge that they have elected competent and trustworthy representatives.

If however that confidence is shattered, they feel they have no alternative than to commit valuable time to improve the system in any way they can.

I do hope that Clr Arnold is correct and fear that Cheshire East has shown in this matter the weaknesses of this form of government.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Peter Hirst

Middlewich