READERS of the Times will have read in recent months of Devon County Council and other authorities, being able to access, mainly from Whitehall and Brussels, generous funds for the building of cycleways and related activities.

It would to some extent be churlish not to welcome such excellent facilities, clearly a boost to local leisure amenities.

However, in stark contrast to such munificence is the current state of local government finance in our county, at all levels. Residential homes are threatened with closure, care in the community services are being curtailed, along with other front line initiatives, because of the lack of funds, whilst Devon's roads (greater in mileage terms than in any other county) are a disgrace — the opposite to the pristine surfaces of most cycle tracks, the bulk of which are underused.

The guiding principle of public service should be the identification and pursuit of priorities, with the elderly, sick, disadvantaged and vulnerable being well to the fore in terms of precedence. With this in mind, the fact that what is essentially a leisure pursuit is given such exalted status, is immoral.

Ted Sherrell

Tavistock Town and

West Devon Borough Councillor