ROY Templeman's claim that there has been a change in circumstances since the original planning brief for Coppergate II was drawn up beggars belief (Evening Press, November 16).
There may have been some commercial changes in that Monks Cross and Naburn shopping centres have opened but this has nothing to do with genuine planning considerations.
It does not matter whether there are two, or one hundred and two, new out of town shopping complexes, this is entirely irrelevant when it comes to the duty of York Council to preserve and enhance the conservation areas of this historic city.
It is absurd for the Director of Environment and Development to suggest that the (alleged) need to maximise city centre shopping space to compete with out-of-town centres means that the policies so painstakingly formulated in the Council's own Local Plan may now be ditched just to suit this developer.
Roy Templeman's job is not to protect the profit and loss account of Land Securities, but is to serve the people of this city by preventing unacceptable redevelopment which breaches council planning policies.
Matthew Laverack,
Chartered Architect,
Lord Mayor's Walk,
York.
Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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