I AM very disappointed to have heard that plans are being submitted to develop the former Frog Hall site as a chain store for a national video rental company ("Video shop plans for old pub", November 6). Heworth already has the largest video rental library in York a few hundred yards down the road in Ace Home Entertainment.

Ace has been a fixture in Heworth for nearly 30 years, always independent and family-owned by people within the Heworth community.

I fail to see what benefit this particular plan can bring to the community as a whole. Any job opportunities created will be offset by the likely job losses at the financially smaller independent store.

All I can see will be achieved is that a Heworth-owned business, run by Heworth residents and employing Heworth residents, will be lost to another big corporation.

In other words we are beginning the Starbucks-isation of local York life.

Ace Home Entertainment is one of the few businesses within this industry that can still be called a video "library". Companies such as Blockbuster and Choices have set this aspect aside in favour of profit-led business based around large Hollywood titles.

This library-based system provides the only opportunity for people to see what lies outside the Hollywood mainstream and enjoy movies from around the world and from cinematic history.

If the proposed plans go ahead there is a very real danger that the closure of this business will lead to the loss of this unique service.

Nigel Ayre,

Galtres Road,

Heworth,

York.

Updated: 11:54 Monday, December 01, 2003