HOW misleading is the Guide To Our Council Tax, which accompanies the council tax bill 2008-2009, which states the proposed new Harrow Leisure Centre is to be built at no cost to the taxpayer.

Is not much, if not all, of the money for the project coming from the sale of public properties, such as the Gayton Library and Gayton Road Car Park sites? While this may well mean there is no financial cost to the taxpayer, there is the cost to the people of Harrow in our assets being sold off and lost forever.

Why is the information so selective? Why are we not told the full story?

Equally absurd is the recent comment from Javid Khan, director of community and cultural services at Harrow Council, regarding the new leisure centre, who said: "It is quite an interesting story that in the middle of the financial problems we have got, that we are finding the money to build this."

The council policy for the Gayton Road site was for a new library, arts complex and some residential development.

This policy was changed to complete residential development by the current council cabinet, witxxxt any proper democratic or public consultation and is a totally repressive act.

The current proposals for the council to sell the site to a developer for the construction of a block of flats up to 10 storeys in height is such an horrendous, over-bearing and out of character proposal that it sxxxld be rejected until an over-all plan for redevelopment of Harrow as a whole is considered.

This loss of our public spaces and buildings, no provision for a new permanent public library and the piecemeal development of so much high-rise xxxsing, will surely leave a legacy, not only for this generation but for future generations, that no council administration could be proud of.

R W TUCKER

Ashburnham Avenue Harrow