NOW THE wheel is to stay in York until September (Big wheel gets extension, The Press, February 22). So be it – but I’m shocked by the procedure that led to this decision.

The planning officers’ report in November 2011 said the wheel’s stay was acceptable until January 2013, but a longer period “could not be supported” as its detrimental impact “would then outweigh any benefits”. The planning committee agreed, making this deadline a condition of approval. In my innocence I supposed this meant councillors and officers intended to honour the deadline.

My first shock came when the recent planning report, by the same officer, supported the application for an extension, now making the precisely opposite claim that “the public benefit... outweighs the harm”. Yet no relevant facts have changed, and objections from nearby residents continue. My next shock came at the planning committee, where I was impressed by members’ expertise and dedication, but dismayed that none of them queried their officers’ about-turn, and few showed any regard for the original time limit, despite the trust residents had evidently placed in it.

When September comes, can we rely on our planning committee to honour its extended deadline?

John Heawood, Eastward Avenue, Fulford, York.