MIKE Laycock’s excellent article in The Press (1,400 new homes planned, April 19), regarding the proposed building of additional homes in York, brought a couple of thorny issues to my mind.

The first of which is that I immediately became deeply concerned about building on flood plains. Certainly, I know that the Germany Beck site floods, hence it being in Fulford (full ford). And, I’m only too well aware of much flooding in Clifton from years of travelling there.

I live in a damp old building and was, in the first part of my life, brought up in one, so I know the perils and health hazards pertaining to dampness and wetness. Believe me, they’re not worth paying through the nose for.

In addition, I’m deeply worried about the miserably poor living space allocated to “modern” families. How dare we make negotiating rooms so dangerously hazardous because they are so treacherously small? That’s insulting.

My conclusion is that house prices are absurdly high for precious little living space. Furthermore, I note that builders, generally speaking, build or acquire mansions for themselves.

Janet E Rowntree, The Dower House, Escrick, York.