HAVING read Terry Butler’s letter (Echo, Thursday, May 17) headed Jobs and Beds, asking Cllr Keith House, leader of Eastleigh Borough Council to confirm how he arrived at 500 new jobs for the proposed 175- room hotel at the Rose/Ageas bowl, compared with 101 Premier Hotel to be built in Winchester creating 55 jobs, I will be surprised if he gets any sort of clarification simply because he was asked this very question at full council on December 15, 2011, and didn’t give a straight answer.

Also, the managing director of Meridian Leisure Hotels said they built a 174-room 4-star hotel in Reading for £20 million and ran it with 140 staff, 40 of whom were part time, whereas this proposal is £30+ million to build and makes unrealistic claim it will provide 500 new jobs and boost the local economy by £55 million per year.

After all these specialist reports with much of the content classed as confidential, even though they have cost the taxpayers millions and on which Cllr House and his cabinet have based their decision, are they hiding some of the pitfalls, as I, like many others, see this as a very risky business.

This project is driven by a very dominant leader and no stone will be left unturned until he gets his way.

KEN WELLSTOOD, Eastleigh.