IT SEEMS poor John Tanner has his foot permanently in his mouth these days.

In his letter (Oxford Mail, July 27) he says the children of South Oxford should not have to suffer because of the bankers’ crisis and the recession.

Their scheme for an adventure playground, at least for the moment, has merely been put on hold by the county council.

Yet, as reported in the same edition of the Mail, the unlucky children in the Meadow Lane area have lost the centrepiece of their play area revamp – a wooden pirate ship – due to the incompetence of the city council.

Can we expect a refund from the bumper rise recently gifted to senior officers when their next regular review is undertaken by the council, or, to quote John Tanner, will it simply be dismissed as a consequence of “paying peanuts and getting monkeys”?

Fortuitously, the delay may give the county council an opportunity to be more circumspect and ensure it is getting value for money when becoming involved with the profligate city council.

C FEATHERSTONE

Northcourt Road

Abingdon