CHARLIE Croft reckons York is getting a good deal by accepting Absolute Leisure's one off payment of £750,000 (Don't 'give away' the Barbican, April 14).

Surely when a property on Boroughbridge Road, the old Forge next to the Petrol Station, which is at least ten times smaller in area and is nowhere near the city centre, is sold albeit freehold for roughly the same price, the decimal point on Absolute Leisure's offer should be two places to the left.

A 250-year lease is a freehold sale in anyone's book; do these custodians of the citizens' property give a hoot?

I do not think so, once they have got what they want out of the city they are off to pastures new, and if as Mr Croft says the Barbican costs £650,000 to run, then I would seriously look at the management of the venue in his charge.

By the way, does anyone remember voting in Charlie Croft as director of leisure? If not, maybe some thought should be given as to how these positions of historical importance in the running of a city are acquired.

Bob Waite,

Windmill Rise,

Holgate, York.

...WELL surprise, surprise! The Barbican Venture Ltd planning application is recommended for approval, despite the fact that it contains five storeys of flats towering over two and three storey houses on Barbican Road.

Could this favourable recommendation possibly have anything to do with the fact that the council is the property owner and will benefit handsomely from this mega project?

With more than 30 years of professional experience, I have no doubt that if I owned this site and I had submitted the same application, I would be facing a recommendation for refusal on grounds of gross over-development, inadequate parking and a detrimental impact on nearby residents.

It is this sort of double standard which destroys the credibility of the planning system and brings into question the whole integrity of local government.

Matthew Laverack,

Lord Mayor's Walk, York.

Updated: 10:06 Tuesday, April 20, 2004