Action Hatfield has a point

SIR - It was remiss of me not to acknowledge fully the contribution of local people in my recent letter to Hatfield residents regarding the town centre.

It is quite right that the members of Action Hatfield have contributed greatly to the improvements being made and I'm grateful for it.

When they established their group, I made it clear I would welcome the input of local groups, businesses and community leaders.

I am grateful that they have done so and pay tribute to their efforts. We have indeed used many of their suggestions in order to help the town through a very hard time.

Works are now in full swing in Hatfield town centre as a result of the investments made, and will continue to progress. Additional investments are also coming in from Hertfordshire County Council to improve the quality of paving, lighting and roads.

As I have said before, this is not the end of the story, although I am glad that the work is appreciated by the many who have made positive comments.

Indeed, we all continue to feel desperation at the delay of the regeneration.

The real work will not be done until signs of economic recovery are clear. When that happens, the developers will begin in earnest to renew Hatfield fully. To that end, I recently took Sir Bob Kerslake, head of the Government agency responsible for such developments, around our town centre to show him the full extent of the problem. It was a very productive meeting and I hope will stand us in good stead for receiving the extra funding which would help Hatfield back on its feet sooner, rather than later.

Once again, I was remiss for not acknowledging the work of Action Hatfield - contributions from such active campaigners concerned for our town is always worthwhile - and I thank them.

I hope their work (and the hopes of everyone who has a stake in Hatfield) will be rewarded in time with a Hatfield we can all be proud of at last.

John Dean,

Leader, Welwyn Hatfield Council.