I wish to address comments made in Mr Hyman’s letter about the Metropolitan Line extension project.

The scheme has always been important to London and initially London Underground aimed to build and operate the extension, before asking Hertfordshire County Council and others for assistance.

Read Mr Hyman's letter: Extension debacle

Find out more: Metropolitan Line Extension £50m short of budget

We stepped in – along with our partners Watford Borough Council, the Local Enterprise Partnership and Department for Transport – to lead the project through complex planning processes and secure the necessary powers to construct and operate the scheme.

During this time, most of the funding has come from Government and not directly from the local communities as suggested by Mr Hyman. Both the County Council and Watford Council have committed to invest heavily within delivery of the scheme, but Government has contributed £66m of the £68m costs to date.

Metropolitan Line Extension: Everything you need to know about the project

Nearly a year and a half ago we handed management of the design and construction of the project back to London Underground in an agreement with TfL worth £284 million.

The Metropolitan Line extension would give better rail access and improved public transport connections for Watford and Croxley Green households and for patients and employees of Watford General hospital. It would also help meet the predicted population growth in the capital and support jobs as mentioned in the 2016 London Plan.

It is therefore hugely disappointing that TfL now appears to have changed its mind on the Metropolitan Line Extension. We have worked hard to keep the project alive and we are in discussions with TfL on this issue.

Rob Smith

Deputy Director of Environment Hertfordshire County Council