From:  Mr Jack Woolford            Chairman,  Kent Federation of Amenity Societies  To:      The Letters Editors of County newspapers*
	Local government needs power - not re-arrangement  Local authorities throughout the county are being forced to conduct a consultation concerning the structure of local government. This has not come about because of any local demand for yet more re-organisation: it is being imposed by central government.    We are being offered three options of which the ‘leader with cabinet’ appears to be the most popular. None of this should distract us from demanding that local government needs more power and not re-arrangement.    We have a proliferation of un-elected bodies to supervise and control development in the South East. For instance house building targets have been determined by central government diktat. Kent County Council is to be congratulated for setting its own target and sticking with this. After all, local government should be local.    There are nearly 100 amenity societies throughout Kent, whose elected officers and committees have a close identity with their locality. We should be building policy from the grass roots and upwards and reverse this top-down process. signed: Jack Woolford, Chairman KFAS *letter published by Kent & Sussex Courier 10th June 2001