THANK you for printing my letter: There's No UK Now (September 15).

In your Opinion column (of the same day) you refer to the good work being done environmentally to our canals by worthy local canal groups. Work which is a major must today, adding " fortunately, there are amounts of public money available for such commendable work" but, you do not say from where!

In Karen's column (September 17), she states in her last paragraph that Euro funding bids are currently being prepared for European funding to develop a number of Bolton initiatives.

That being the case, are we to read that British taxpayers' contributions to the EU will, through our new EU Regional system of control, be able to supply money freely to friendly bodies, as has been donated quietly in recent years in Kent from Brussels, by their EU Kent Regional HQ in Guildford, a region formed before the rest, on April 1 this year.

I feel sure that a new look around Bolton for regeneration purposes, to support its city bid, will be a change from the current cash-starved local government system when money from Brussels can be supplied together with fresh ideas from our EU Regional representative for any type of EU Partnership, or a town centre company which states it can double its investors' money over a two-year period.

While I know not who is responsible for these vast regional changes to our former British town hall systems and way of life, I do feel that any EU money from Brussels, returned to the VAT-paying British public in any form, is surely welcome being better than none at all.

Mr J Wilkinson

Fall Birch Road

Bolton

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.