• JAMES Slater, (The council’s green bond initiative is welcome, November 18), writes ecstatically about the wonderful environmental record of “the Labour leadership” on Camden Council.

Perhaps he’s genuine, and from his vantage point up in (presumably rather green) NW5 he does find his world to be environmentally pleasant, and – for some reason– attributes this to the actions of Camden.

In WC1, however, it feels rather different: those in charge of Camden are distinctly unenvironmental in their approach to the public realm down here.

They destroy the largest and most environmentally valuable tree in the area; for the sake of traffic. They push for road changes which make it harder to use public transport.

They try to hand over our local green space to be trashed by commercial users – and astoundingly anti-environmental users at that – for 10 days at a time.

They support a vainglorious Centre Point-style tower which would overshadow our neighbourhood and massively waste resources by demolishing an existing viable building.

And their approach to the homes they own here is also abysmal, refusing to install double-glazing in council flats.

In my block, for example, we were promised double glazing “next time” during a major refurbishment in 1984; nearly 40 years and two more refurbishments later, we still have to waste energy in order to keep warm.

“Camden Council’s Labour leadership” and “environmental record” aren’t phrases which anyone I know would see a positive link between.

ALBERT BEALE
Little Russell Street, WC1