I WRITE in response to the letter from A Phillips of Bath urging that York University be prevented from expanding.

This is an extremely short-sighted view and, because he doesn't live in York, it is difficult to see how he can have a balanced view.

This city suffers from low wages, high house prices and a lack of decent jobs.

The traditional industries (railways and chocolate) have declined and the rise of the tourism industry is no real substitute because its jobs are, in many cases, poorly paid and seasonal.

York's University is one of the country's smaller ones, and expansion will provide jobs which the city needs.

As a graduate of the university I know the difficulty of finding a job in York.

As for the view that students are the main group responsible for drunken behaviour and hanging around on the streets, this is simply not the case.

In York and, I suspect, Bath too, the main culprits are the seemingly unstoppable tide of yobs and chavs, not students who mostly have better things to do than hang around on street corners drinking Special Brew and being antisocial.

David Bryant,

Yarburgh Way,

York.

Updated: 09:26 Thursday, March 24, 2005