NOW we know York council's stance on creating viable employment opportunities for the people living west of York.

Unless you live or work in the centre of York, the council doesn't care.

The A1237 west of York is the main artery for this large industrious region. As it is narrowed or blocked for a large part of each day, it is a "heart-attack" waiting to happen.

The main reason why the A1237 is so crucial to so many people is the fact that it has the only useable bridge between York and the A1.

All this traffic is not using this road "because it is there" - it's using it because "there is no alternative". That is a crucial difference.

The council's reasoning that a conversion of the A1237 into a dual carriageway "will only attract more traffic" could also be used against the further expansion of Monks Cross and Clifton Moor. You can't have one without the other.

If it is not the council's intention to create work for the people living west of York, why have they given planning permission for the existing sites and the extensions? Why weren't they built along the A64?

The chance that the people living in the housing estates near these sites have exactly the right skills for the available jobs is very slim. Employers will take on people who will have to commute to work, possibly using the A1237.

How are agents and the council selling the vacant plots at Monks Cross and Clifton Moor going to attract potential employers? "It's relatively cheap, lovely countryside and a great work force."

What they won't tell them is that they will lose hours per week in productivity, haulage costs, missed appointments and commuting time, if they depend on the A1237.

Mr G van der Sluis,

Windsor Drive,

Wigginton,

York.

Updated: 10:41 Wednesday, July 06, 2005