I’M confused. An unexpected addition to York’s failed local development plan was the green-field site bounded by Stockton Lane, Pasture Lane, Heworth Rugby Club, and Christ Church, for house building.

Recently mechanical excavators and a drilling rig were seen working in the fields; my local councillor believes this could be an archaeology survey prior to a planning application.

Tony Fisher’s letter of March 18 suggests the reason may be similar to that in Earswick, with City of York Council prematurely releasing ‘safeguarded’ land for building.

The Press of March 20 carried an article headed ‘Budget Cash to open up York Central site’, stating millions of pounds of government money could be poured into building houses on the site, a dedicated brown-field housing zone. The same edition also reported that a government inspector had blocked plans to build houses on a green-field site at Strensall.

My confusion is answered in Cllr Nigel Ayre’s letter of March 20 when he reveals lack of progress on the brown-field sites resulting from flaws in the local development plan, and policy of favouring green-field development.

David Robson Greensward, Stockton Lane, York.