Mr D Lewis asked, 'why no shops at the Tenneco site?' (March 23). Answer - because shops are not needed or wanted.

The Tenneco site is a development of approximately 250 houses not 600 as stated by Mr Lewis and will be well served by existing businesses in the area.

As such a shopkeeper (Shipton Road Stores), I organised a petition of the majority of local shopkeepers which was sent City of York Council, pointing out the detrimental impact additional retail outlets would have on existing businesses.

Together with concerns expressed by residents close to the site of the possibility of noise and other nuisance, these views presumably guided the members of the planning committee to propose that retail outlets are not included on this site.

Perhaps Mr Lewis feels that the members of the planning committee, Liberal or otherwise, should not have taken residents' objections into account in making the proposal.

Alison Shrimpton,

Updated: 10:22 Tuesday, April 16, 2002