Re: Fire Station on hit list? (Journal, December 31). This article would have been news 10 years ago and, ever since the provision of the Liverton facility, it was predictable, even inevitable, that the Budleigh station would close.

Re: Fire Station on hit list? (Journal, December 31).

This article would have been news 10 years ago and, ever since the provision of the Liverton facility, it was predictable, even inevitable, that the Budleigh station would close.

It has only remained open for the past eight years because the milk and honey like flow of taxpayers money has enabled local politicians to procrastinate the implementation of a done deal, preferring to let the Budleigh service 'wither on the vine'.

It has only come to pass now because local government partytime seems to be coming to an end with the need for budget cuts.

It has certainly not got anything to do with pro-active good husbandry of council tax revenues.

I hate to think of how many tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of pounds have been wasted on a completely superfluous service over the past eight years - money which could have been far better spent on promoting the local economy through regeneration projects - like those I suggested eight years ago to that ill-fated and now much forgotten council-inspired local business survey.

Alan Gooch,

43 High Street,

Budleigh Salterton