IN reply to Mrs Taylor's letter "Need for homes" (October 22), I sympathise with Mrs Taylor's position and anyone else who finds themselves poorly housed.

However, she will not find the grass is any greener here in Tang Hall than it is in Tennent Road.

Only a few months ago I went to see Hugh Bayley and raised with him the issue of empty and run-down council houses in Tang Hall, of which there are many. I am told that there are hundreds of empty council houses across York.

Claims by the council that these houses are only temporarily empty are clearly not correct as many of them lie empty for months.

I question the allocation of over £8 million pounds of Government funding to build a small number of rented houses at Derwenthorpe when existing estates could be completely renovated for a fraction of that cost and in a much shorter timescale, releasing far more houses.

I would advise Mrs Taylor to get writing to Steve Galloway and ask him to explain why money can't be spent on existing council housing.

If the Derwenthorpe development does get the go ahead, will any of the money from the sale of the land go to improve other council housing stock? I don't think so, the council already has a black hole to fill.

Adrian Wilson,

Grasmere Drive,

York.

Updated: 10:53 Monday, November 01, 2004