Sean Brogan, of Coombe Vale Road, Teignmouth, writes:

The possibility of Teignmouth Harbour Commission taking over the running of Polly Steps will cause alarm to many.

This is a public asset controlled by Teignbridge Council which is accountable to electors in a democratic way.

This means we have a certain say in the way in which it acts and can be called to account for its actions through the Freedom of Information process, the Local Government Ombudsman and of course through elections.

In the past, I was informed by the secretary of the Harbour Commission that they are not subject to FOI inquiries.

They have no public representative on their board from either the district, county or town even though the decisions they make affect the Teign estuary. They do not hold public meetings or consultation like their neighbours in Torquay and Dartmouth.

I would argue that there is a 'democratic deficit' in the way they select and appoint harbour commissioners.

The proposed action by Teignbridge of handing over our assets may be clouded by promises of greatly enhanced facilities but I prefer democracy myself.

If the Harbour Commission wish to go down this route then let us have representatives on the board of boat owners, fishermen, councils and others from the town.

This, in my book, is democracy and it is our estuary after all or am I just naive?

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