Dear Sir

In more than one recent edition of their local party newspaper,  The Berkhamsted & Northchurch Times, Berkhamsted’s Liberal         Democrats, currently the majority party on the Town Council, have sought to take credit for the achievements of the Canal & Riverside Partnership (CARP). CARP has been responsible for a programme of popular improvements including an upgrading of the canal towpath through Berkhamsted and the planting of thousands of daffodils in the vicinity of the canal and River Bulbourne.

We wish to make it clear that CARP is a non-political body involving a number of funding partners, and other stakeholders including The Inland Waterways Association, Berkhamsted Citizens Association, The Environment Agency, The Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust and a number of other non members including the Hertfordshire Probation Service.  These organisations have contributed time and expertise to the design and implementation of CARP projects. The CARP organisation and programme was initiated in 1995 and has been financially supported by successive administrations at Dacorum Borough Council (Labour & Conservative led) and at Berkhamsted Town Council (Independent & Liberal Democrat). It is neither primarily funded by the current Berkhamsted Town Council nor organised by members of the current Liberal Democrat majority group who have rarely attend the regular meetings of CARP or played any active role in setting up or putting into effect any of the projects.

The principal funding partner for CARP is British Waterways who have contributed more than 50% to CARP programmes since 1995 with Dacorum Borough Council and Berkhamsted Town Council making up the rest.

The success of the CARP programme in Berkhamsted has led to proposals to extend its remit Borough-wide in Dacorum and it would be extremely disappointing if this were to be prejudiced by party political claims of Berkhamsted’s Liberal Democrats.

Yours faithfully

Lindy Foster Weinreb

Berkhamsted Citizens Association

Berkhamsted Town Council

Berkhamsted Youth Council

British Waterways

Dacorum Borough Council

Environment Agency

Groundwork Hertfordshire

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust