IN REPLY to the letter from Cllr John Ackerley (SUM, April 1) I would like to respond to the points he raised.

The roof of Lostock High School, which now houses the new library was surveyed, but when work started it was discovered that the roof was in a far worse condition than the survey had revealed and was due to lack of maintenance over a number of years.

Cllr Ackerley decries the state of the roads in Trafford, roads do not fall into a state of disrepair overnight, but over a number of years. Trafford Tories allowed many schools and roads to fall into a state of neglect. Under Labour, spending on highways maintenance has risen by over 15% to £4.6 million and a further increase is included in this years budget, a far cry from 1994 when Cllr Ackerley's party cut spending on highways maintenance. There are over 450 miles of roads in Trafford and inevitably there will be problems but the Labour council are determined to keep these to a minimum.

About Cllr Ackerley's misleading comments on the new libraries and his 'Give us the facts' - since the new libraries opened on January 11 some 3,600 people have registered to use the libraries. Last month Bowfell issued more books than in the same month last year, the percentage of people using the libraries is about 71%. People are using and reusing the libraries, with no significant evidence of abuse.

Those are the facts and are readily available from Trafford's Library service. It is a pity that improving people's interest in books and learning, and services to the public are being used in an attemot to score cheap political points.

Cllr Freda Mottley, Davyhulme West Ward

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.