I see that once again York has turned down another proposal for a public house. This time near Clifford's Tower - an ideal spot for locals and tourists alike.

This time the reason given was that local residents objected. Well of course they did - they were bound to. But they chose to live in the city centre. They can't have it all their own way.

And so what if a handful of residents didn't like the idea? What about the

rest of York's population and visitors? Over the course of a year, perhaps

around 25,000 people would have gained enjoyment from such an establishment.

Did the council and licensing authorities consider anyone else apart from the residents? What about the vast majority of people that would prefer to have more choice around that area rather than an empty building?

No they didn't. The NIMBY's (Not In My Back Yard), although tiny and insignificant in number, win every time.

York's choice of nightlife is abysmal. Every other major town and city in

the UK puts it to shame.

There will be those that respond to this by saying that York has enough pubs already.

Yes, there are plenty enough down-at-heel pubs and plenty enough Micklegate 'cattlemarkets', but every fresh and interesting application for a licence is always turned down.

Andrew Raynard,

Nunthorpe Road, York.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.