I RECENTLY received a leaflet from the Labour candidate for Outer York asking “is Strensall at breaking point?” and complaining about traffic congestion in the village and pressure on school places.

I recognise that he is new to politics in the area and has been away at university recently, so he may not be fully aware of events, but perhaps he would like to consider the following.

In February 2014, Labour councillors approved 102 dwellings on Green Belt land at the Brecks in Strensall.

This decision, made against strong local opposition, would have greatly exacerbated the very things he identifies as problems, things real locals have known about for ages.

It also cost myself, the parish council and many other residents considerable amounts of time to prepare a case and money to hire consultants to fight our case at a planning inquiry.

However, we were successful in overturning the decision on sound planning grounds, with the planning inspector being very critical of the Labour councillors’ arguments for approval.

In view of this, will the Labour candidate admit that his Labour councillors got it disastrously wrong?

Tony Fisher, West End, Strensall, York