ON Jean Frost's list of likely deterrents to would-be visitors, (Letters, January 26): "The failure to go ahead with extra facilities planned for Coppergate" seems to be the most urgent.

The state of the derelict buildings in Piccadilly is enough to put off any visitors and for many this is the first part of the city they encounter.

As a regular visitor to York, I draw the attention of your readers to the Friends of Riverside (FOR) who wholeheartedly support the Coppergate Riverside development and urge your readers to study carefully the architects' perspective plans and model, on display in Guildhall.

Citizens who want to see trade, tourism and prosperity in York, plus environmental improvements, should consider the implications before signing petitions organised by the Castle Area Campaign group, which seeks to sabotage the Coppergate II project. It could be decades before York's council gets another chance to go ahead with a scheme on such a large scale.

Colin Pollard,

The Banks,

Hackleton, Northampton.

...I CAN'T help wondering if the long- running tedious, spat between developers and do-gooders over Coppergate II could have been avoided. If York has a population of 180,000 how many have registered an opinion? Nowhere near the population size, I'll wager.

We should all have our say on the future of our city. People don't have time for public meetings, protests etc. So why didn't someone stick a simple questionnaire in with the census forms or with the Electoral Roll form and make it a requirement to fill it in?

Then a true reflection of the population's wishes could have been gauged. Instead, York is going to be left with a big bill to cover this inquiry... and we all know who will end up paying it.

P R Willey,

Burnholme Drive,

Heworth, York.

Updated: 12:38 Friday, February 01, 2002