THIS is what I'd like to say to Lidl's about its offer to kindly build another supermarket in Acomb (Demolition job, The Press, January 16).

(a) We've got a very good Yorkshire-grown supermarket and excellent small shops which somehow manage to hang in there and give us choice and good value. We don't want another global giant destroying the balance.

(b) We've got a nice light-filled library already, which also makes computers available. If it's got a grant to make it even better, why do we need a new one and, if we agree, will the replacement mysteriously fail to appear like the Barbican swimming bath?

(c) What is our town about? Is it about selling off every asset so developers can deliver more shops, flats and hotels, or is it about having a thriving community where small businesses can make a living and people of all backgrounds enjoy their leisure in a pleasant environment?

(d) How does Lidl know about this piece of wasted green grass and dispensable pub and bowling green? Has it flown over in a helicopter and discovered all this is up for grabs or is someone advertising that there's a piece of land available and no one will object if they just dispose of the pub and green and tell the people they'll get a new library sometime maybe?

Wake up, people of Acomb and York. You should be deciding the future of your city, not firms and cash-strapped councils.

A Donaldson, Danebury Drive, York.


* A City of York Council spokeswoman said: "We don't yet know whether Lidl is in a position to make a firm proposal around this site. If and when it is, councillors will look at all the pros and cons for the local area before making a decision. Any proposals will be subject to planning permission.

"This is not a proposal that the council has sought out. Lidl will have been alerted to the availability of part of the site because the owners of the land next to the bowling-green applied successfully for planning permission to build three houses there a year ago."