SIR,

For the local community at Cross Ash to have secured the future of their village hall is good news. Well done for rallying support to form the new committee and ensure the hall is in safe hands.

But, on further investigation it appears the LEA grant of £45,000 to "secure the future of the playgroup" has gone a long way to enhance the project.

If the LEA can use the education budget in this way, should they not look at all the playgroups in the county that struggle to survive on the extremely low fees paid to them by the authority to supply early years education.

It was shown in the recent TV documentary about Monmouthshire County Council that certain schools in the county in desperate need of repairs and the only way this can be achieved is for the authority to sell off its assets to pay for these repairs, namely Abergavenny market.

Maybe the schools should apply to organisations such The Big Lottery, who give help to village halls, and ask if they could help them instead.

Perhaps the councillor in charge of the education budget could explain why this decision was made to spend £45,000 on a village hall.

A concerned ratepayer

(Name and address supplied