Dear Review,
I too despair of the clear Borough Council  bias that shamelessly presents itself on a regular basis. On the one hand the Council tell us that we are in tough economic times, but on the other  they always seem to find plenty of our cash to spend on new pleasant amenities for WGC. I find it incredible that the Council can justify the needless expense of pampering WGC when Hatfield is virtually  a ‘special needs case’. This is particularly obvious as  the Hatfield area is rated as the largest  for children living in poverty throughout Hertfordshire !
In April 2011 a report commissioned by the County Council produced a map that revealed a great swathe, stretching from South Hatfield across to Essendon, which had between 19% - 33% of households where families were living in poverty.
The report, entitled Hertfordshire’s Child Poverty Needs Assessment  (the most recent investigation) defines poverty as:  "those families in receipt of out of work benefits or tax credits where their income is less than 60% the median income".
This report shows little improvement from a similar study in 2004 entitled the  Hertfordshire Prosperity Local Economy Assessment which accounted for data related to 100 wards across the county. It revealed that Central Hatfield was: The 3rd most deprived area, 2nd worst for crime and 2nd worst for health.
The 2011 report shows that the densely populated South Hatfield is the 4th worst for poverty in the county (narrowly behind Peartree; WGC’s only ‘poor’ area).
With apparent disadvantage and poverty so endemic throughout the Hatfield region, it is incredible that the WelHat Borough Council continue to lavish our money on new WGC leisure amenities when it is clear that Hatfield is in far more need of a fair share of local authority investment for its bereft  community.
Yours, R J Hobbs