NO-ONE can criticise Winchester City Council for having to change the way it works.
Government funding is being slashed and the council says it will soon have to do more with less.
Some ideas sound promising: the initiative to help first time buyers reported on P6 sounds interesting. The house building programme is to be lauded.
However, are we alone in feeling trepidation when we hear the council leader Stephen Godfrey talking about a new “entrepreneurial” spirit? People, at the start of their careers, if they fancy themselves as entrepreneurs, become entrepreneurs. People who are motivated by a desire for public service often go into local government. They are not by nature risk-taking buccaneers, willing to fail.
The recent history of Winchester City Council and business is not good: think Silver Hill and Station Approach. The council has a massive public relations job on its hands to assure the public of its competence, let along its ability to become entrepreneurs.
Much of the criticism is wide of the mark. Silver Hill can be rescued. Just moving two storeys of parking onto the Middle Brook Street car park to lower the height will answer many criticisms.
But with the rise of pessimistic cynicism among a chunk of the electorate, is now the right time for such an ethos?
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