THE Odeon is a run down old fleapit, and the sooner it is closed, the better.

The building has been neglected for decades; the seating is uncomfortable and the projection and sound are truly dreadful (I say this as someone who spent ten years in the cinema industry).

The building itself is not unique. There are other examples of this style of cinema architecture, only in far better condition, elsewhere in the country - the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, for example. The York site may be worth saving but only if serious money can be poured into its restoration.

"Why do we need more flats?", asks Mrs TM Duston (Letters, January 30).

There are two reasons.

Firstly, there is a chronic housing shortage which has been in part responsible for the runaway property price inflation of recent years.

Secondly, the type of accommodation needed is changing. More people live on their own and more couples choose not to have children and work patterns which increasingly require people to move more frequently around the country, often living for a relatively short time in each town or city.

I have lived in five towns from Exeter to Aberdeen, since leaving school in 1990.

I understand the feelings of loss among those who have fond memories of the Odeon in its heyday of the Thirties and Forties. The Odeon in Wimbledon where I saw my very first film was pulled down last year.

But many of your campaign's supporters will own their properties and have paid off their mortgages so can afford to take a "not in my back yard" attitude to the prospect of more flats.

Leo Enticknap,

Ingram House,

Bootham,

York.

Updated: 10:04 Thursday, February 05, 2004