LET it be a salutary lesson to all those “economic growth” fanatics within York council who are bent on concreting over our green belt that, having positioned York as a dormitory town for the new super authority of the Northern Powerhouse centred on Leeds, the Government has refused to allow the combined Leeds and York enterprise partnership to get their hands on business rates (The Press, March 19).

Having sold its autonomy down the river, the verdict that York cannot be trusted to make huge financial decisions may be a bitter pill to swallow, but the council’s track record is its undoing.

The Lendal Bridge debacle, the local plan fiasco and the community care home catastrophe are three cases in point. Having wasted well in excess of £2 million, councillors are still defending their decisions, spending even more on trying to right wrongs, and refusing to apologise.

Unless and until the council can demonstrate they are capable of exercising power with responsibility, openness and accountability to the public they serve, their powers should be curtailed, not extended.

Allan Charlesworth, Old Earswick, York.