Fighting for land

I mentioned neither crested newts nor water voles among wildlife that Rowntree's bulldozers will kill (Column, March 31), although certainly they too will sustain casualties.

Almost all 53 acres of existing meadowland will be destroyed. "About" 20 acres may be "kept green", but most will be for flood defence engineering works with some formal open space.

Forced by English Nature, Rowntree will retain tiny pockets of original wildlife habitat but fragmented and pressurised by surrounding development, these will quickly deteriorate.

Planting "hundreds of trees" will not compensate for lost meadowland.The council is not required to sell Osbaldwick's meadows, to the highest bidder or at all. Few actually want them sold but many question financial arrangements with Rowntree.

These not only avoided normal tendering processes but included financial penalties that coerced planning committee members into approving "overwhelmingly" a development about which they had expressed largely concern and disappointment.

My wanting the meadows "used as wildlife habitat" doesn't arise. They already are wildlife habitat.

As for balancing human and wildlife needs, Rowntree's social housing "disappointed" councillors in quantity and quality.

It is but a small part of a large standard, commercial housing estate that, in a city rich with brownfield alternatives, perversely targets 53 acres of "the most threatened habitat in lowland Yorkshire". Hardly "a model for development elsewhere", whatever Chris Baines was hired to say.

Rowntree should seek advice from Tees Valley Housing Group, now demonstrating in York how to achieve viable, efficient, 100 per cent social housing, on small local sites, with minimal environmental damage.

So yes, Lord Best, you plan to needlessly kill those wild animals and destroy their habitat and yes, I and other wildlife lovers, will try to stop you.

Barry Potter,

Knapton Lane,

York.

Updated: 12:44 Saturday, April 16, 2005