THE BEN today highlights two instances which illustrate how red tape can get in the way of common sense.

The first story concerns a report to the Bolton Council highways sub committee stating that the duties of school caretakers and people on lollipop patrols cannot be combined.

Councillors had, sensibly, put forward the idea of school caretakers doubling up on patrols in an attempt to solve a school crossing patrol recruitment crisis.

We cannot see why the duties would overlap and regret that the suggestion is not being adopted.

Until another solution is found, there is still a recruitment crisis which must be putting our children's safety at risk.

Red tape became entangled again when Green Party worker Graeme McIver wanted to copy the proposals for the Lee Hall/Daisy Hill housing development in Westhoughton.

Bolton Council tried to charge him £30 - for photocopying a single A4 sheet of a planning document.

We accept that Bolton Council may impose standard charges for photocopying weighty documents, but to insist that these charges apply for one sheet is ludicrous.

It's time Bolton Council unravelled the red tape and let common sense take over.

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