WITH reference to “Anger over hostel plans” (The Press, March 15), I wholeheartedly agree with Matthew Laverack’s letter, published on March 24.

Given the shortage of affordable housing, it must be worth exploring at least the different options suggested in Mr Laverack’s letter. Failure to do so would surely be dereliction of duty on the part of our elected representatives and, indeed, council officers. Perhaps those in authority would care to comment?

Mary Pringle, St John Street, York.

• MATTHEW Laverack is quite right to condemn the council for wishing to demolish the Peasholme Hostel, because this is another example of one rule for the council but another rule for the rest of us.

If I, or any other private builder owned that building and applied to demolish it, permission would be refused because the council have a policy of not allowing demolition in the central conservation area unless there is a signed contract for replacement development.

The justification for this is to prevent unsightly empty gaps in the city for years on end.

If we claimed it was to prevent vandalism and to provide a clean, cleared site we would be told this was not good enough, and we would not be allowed to knock it down until we had firm proposals to build something else and all the necessary planning permission to go with it.

John Jones, Sand Hutton, York.