Councillor Joe Smith has once again got the wrong end of the stick by saying the people of Griffin would have chucked the HMR money back into the council’s face.

What was actually asked was for reassurances that the council wouldn’t just do a facelift on the properties but instead refurbish the properties in the Griffin area, ie new windows and doors, new roofs and new walls, as has been done in other areas in the borough.

Unfortunately, it seems that the coalition have decided to do things not the right way but the cheap way, by just doing facelifts on the properties that just make the properties look nice for a few years but give no additional lifespan for the properties.

If Councillor Joe Smith believes the people of Griffin and Ewood would be happy with second best, I think he might find that he will be sadly mistaken.

I fought for many years for the refurbishment of the Griffin area and just because we are no longer in control, that won’t stop me fighting to get the best service for anybody in the Mill Hill ward which was what I was elected to do.

Councillor Jim Smith, Mill Hill ward, Blackburn