NIGEL Ingram, director of development for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, talks of his disappointment that people are being negative in their criticisms of the proposed development of the Derwenthorpe estate.

Is there any wonder people are negative when you look at their proposal to create green areas for the residents of the new Derwenthorpe estate, but intend digging up the "green areas" (ie the grass verges) in Fifth Avenue to widen the road giving access to a bus route into and out of the Derwenthorpe estate every ten minutes?

In a typical 14 hour day this equates to 168 buses a day up and down Fifth Avenue.

It is also difficult to be upbeat about the foundation's proposal to create traffic-free zones on this new estate, when they propose to access more than one third of the properties via Fifth Avenue.

With one car per household doing one journey a day in and out, almost 400 more cars would travel up and down Fifth Avenue every day.

Add to this the impact on the local environment from construction vehicles proposing to use Fifth Avenue as the main access route to and from the site for at least the next six years.

It would be hard to give positive feedback on any of their proposals when you consider the implications this proposed development will have on all the neighbouring communities.

DS Barker,

Fifth Avenue,

York.

Updated: 11:24 Wednesday, October 06, 2004