IT is quite ironic that in a month when matters porcine are at the front of the news headlines, ie swine flu and MPs’ expenses, that Herefordshire Council has announced plans to build itself a nice shiny new headquarters.

For anyone who was involved in many major construction projects, it seems to me that you get an awful lot of ‘trough’ for £17 million.

On a more serious matter, and all of us as the electorate should take careful note, the sum of £17 million represents the annual council tax bill of 10,000 three bedroomed homes.

As £15 million of that is to be borrowed, many of us Herefordians will be coughing up our hard earned cash to pay for this project for many years to come!

Well done Herefordshire Council. Once again you seem to have illustrated what is fundamentally wrong with politics and taxation in this country and you might like to reflect on this when helping yourselves to our money, as we will be reflecting on it come election time.

SEAN ALAKIJA, Bodenham, Herefordshire