FIVE years ago York Tomorrow took part in what was to become a nine-week, often acrimonious, public inquiry into Land Securities' proposals for the Castle area and Clifford's Tower.

Despite ill-health Eric Pearson, who sadly is no longer with us (Ex-plans chief dies, The Press, March 29), continued to take a keen interest in the proceedings, and offered continued support and constructive comment to the campaign to prevent what we all considered a totally inappropriate development.

He had already, as a member of the York Alliance, added his voice to protests against the initial proposals for the site, pleading for dialogue rather than confrontation. This was in 1998, ten years after he retired from official duties.

Eric had always been very concerned over the damage that large-scale projects could do to the fabric of the city, and was very worried over the threat to Piccadilly in particular.

His experience as chief planning officer following the publication of the Esher Report on York in 1968 made him acutely aware of the problems of overdevelopment, and this fed through into our own evidence at the inquiry.

During his 17 years as chief planning officer, he took an extremely proactive role in York's regeneration. He enthused, and carried his committee members and officers with him to a remarkable extent, and was the welcome public face of a planning department which was later to become part of environment and development services, and then of the directorate of the city strategy.

The centre of York is what it is today because of Eric's concern and perseverance, often in the face of considerable opposition from an uncomprehending public.

Hopefully, the eventual solution to the Castle-Piccadilly saga will be one of which he would have approved. Only time will tell.

Philip Crowe, Stonegate, York.