PETER Morris of Persimmon does not tell the full story about the Battle of Fulford (February 16). Their excavations were irrelevant as the expert criticism of their report revealed.

Persimmon know that all responsible bodies such as English Heritage accept that this is the site of the battle and have written to say so. They must be forced to address the criticism of their work and the questionable claims they continue to make.

It is ridiculous to claim that no evidence has been found for the battle. During the last four years we have collected more than 4,000 metal items nearby, while their archaeologist found a few dozen in a much larger area at the centre of the battle.

Not only have they refused to look for the evidence, they have banned us from working on their land at the heart of the battle.

Persimmon also know they will be required to conduct a proper survey of the site and an excavation of the peat layers along the beck before being granted full planning permission. This is precisely the work we wanted to undertake and is known in planning terms as a "mitigation strategy."

My question to the developer is: "Why have you prevented the society from undertaking this recommended work for the last three years?"

My question for the planners is: "How will you stop the development when the evidence is revealed?" The logic of granting outline planning permission before this work has been done is hard to understand.

In fairness to Persimmon, most of the work was conducted many years ago before the importance of this site as a battlefield was identified. The excavations they undertook are excellent. The problem is that they are irrelevant to the investigation of the battlefield.

Chas Jones,

Fulford Battlefield Society,

School Lane, Fulford, York.

Updated: 09:19 Friday, February 25, 2005