Is it not time for a review of Camden’s Community Investment Programme?

• YOUR article (UCLH Charity urged to stop acting like a property developer, August 25) could equally apply to Camden Council.

But here “property developer” should be qualified by “incompetent”.

The council’s own scrutiny report identified many of the flaws in the Community Investment Programme (CIP).

The list is long, costs on the West Kentish Town estate have almost doubled, cost over-runs on Cherry Court and Kiln Place reportedly run into tens of millions.

Now, after a 10-year delay, we have proposals to start work on the Bacton Low Rise site in 2023 which was supposedly to be completed in 2017.

Work is supposed to start next year on the huge West Kentish Town develop­ment with completion date put back to 2040.

Collateral damage has been the loss of over 25 small workshops, employing local people and two community centres.

But the real victims are families displaced from Gospel Oak, continuing chronic overcrowding, long waiting lists and a huge backlog of repairs to crumbling council properties.

The borough desperately needs homes for its residents who keep the local economy going, not £800,000 two-bedroomed flats to be sold on the private market for the rich.

As to the proposed partnership working with a private developer for Bacton Low Rise, we only have to look at the outstanding £100million-plus bill for the Chalcots private financial initiative.

Perhaps a council spokesperson would care to trot out the usual platitude “We always take such problems seriously”.

Perhaps the cabinet members responsible would like to respond and correct any errors. Is it not time for a fully independent review of the CIP fiasco.

MICK FARRANT, NW5