I HAVE been dismayed at some of the comments on The Press website in relation to recent articles in this newspaper about the planning application for a replacement mosque in York.

Some of the comments indicate that we have a long way to go before we can hold ourselves up as a truly welcoming and inclusive city. With a major part of our economy based on our universities and tourism, I would suggest that is a naive attitude to adopt.

My daughter lives in multicultural Leicester and for some years her garden backed on to the local mosque, which was the other side of the fence from her back garden.

Not only was it a beautiful building, but the regular users of the mosque often had garden parties and barbecues in the grounds to which they invited their neighbours and so built good relationships up with people of other faiths and beliefs.

In a city filled with some of the most beautiful religious buildings in the country, this will surely be a welcome replacement for the inadequate buildings on the Bull Lane site.

Coun Sonja Crisp, Labour cabinet member for leisure, culture and social inclusion, City of York Council.

• Editor’s note: The comments in question have been removed from our website.