• I HAVE no objection to paying council tax but, like many other residents, I want to be sure that we get value for money and that there is proper councillor scrutiny of expenditure.

Council tax in Camden will bring in just over £112million from April 2019, with residents being charged an additional 3.99 per cent, about an extra £4.5million of this.

Readers may remember that the New Journal revealed that the council was forced to pay £2.5million compensation to a developer for a botched tendering exercise.

The newspaper also revealed that Camden’s homes average building costs at £400k were 44 per cent higher than Islington’s. These do not include the cost of land.

The “investigation” of the £2.5million compensation (if it actually took place) seems to have been quietly brushed under the carpet. All this pales into insignificance compared with the botched refurbishment of the Chalcots earlier in the decade.

Incidentally, whatever has happened to the independent “open and transparent” investigation promised almost two years ago? We now have a new cabinet member for finance, following the departure of Theo Blackwell to the GLA.

Perhaps the “new broom” will, to mix metaphors, shine a light into the murky corners of the council’s spending. He could start off by responding to points in this letter.

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED