I SHARE Nick Derbyshire’s misgivings about the new-look City of York Council, succinctly expressed in his letter ‘Ill-thought-out decision’ (The Press, July 12).

This concern was reinforced this week by evidence that the council appears to be masticating and wasting trees for propaganda purposed when Your Voice, First Edition, dropped through the letter box.

However, let’s try (very hard) to be optimistic in spite of Coun Alexander putting the backs up of a wide range of people with regard to the Union Terrace site so early in his reign.

Let’s hope that our anxieties will have proved unfounded and when local history looks back at this chapter with Coun Alexander at the helm, it will do so with approval of his tenure of office – a golden age for York – steady on!

So, fingers crossed that he and his team will learn from this apparent early error of judgement and, with the humility that befits a servant of this city and its citizens, will work with integrity and due diligence to address the many challenges ahead. So good luck to James Alexander and his comrades.

Derek Reed, Dringhouses, York.