Town will be poor relation

The present decline of various services going to Middlesbrough is well documented.

The new Northern Powerhouse will be formed, on April Fool’s Day – a perfect choice of timing.

For those of you who agree with Hartlepool sitting at that table of decisions then it will be the scraps and leftovers that come to the town.

Middlesbrough will take the lion’s share, with Darlington and Stockton close behind.

So what will Labour-controlled Hartlepool get?

For starters, I believe you can kiss goodbye to any effective police presence in the town despite Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Barry Coppinger saying that frontline services will not be cut.

The law courts and the coroner’s court will eventually go south.

Hospital services already have. Don’t be surprised if the whole shooting match ends up controlled south of the Tees.

As for investment by companies and massive grants for the taking, sorry. Kiss them goodbye also.

In my opinion, the town will get a bit of this and a bit of that, but nothing like what the others will get.

The one thing you can all be assured of, is that your taxes will increase, to recoup some or all of the cash that the Government gives out.

Of course, Hartlepool Borough Council knows all about such moves, with the highest tax in this area.

Silly Billy schemes that the townspeople have to fork out.

My favourite one is the white elephant Inspirations coffee shop in the cemetery.

Around £0.5 million of taxpayers’ cash spent on another flop.

I wonder if I’m the only person who would like to see our town back in Durham?

Ralph Bantoft,

Burwell Walk,

Hartlepool.