DAVID Farnsworth is right to call into question the basis for the decision to locate Haxby station on the site of the 1845 building (September 7).

The five-year-old data City of York Council insists on trotting out as justification relates to a totally different scenario from the one they now propose.

At the very least, their requirement for more than three times the number of parking spaces than in the original proposal makes it clear that traffic levels will increase significantly.

Unfortunately, the council seems unable or, for some reason, unwilling to accept that changing the proposal so drastically calls for a re-assessment of both the traffic flows through Haxby and the design requirements of the station itself.

What seems obvious to the layman fails to be grasped by the "experts". Meanwhile, Laing Rail have been given the remit to assess the business case for only the old station site, which means any further discussion is effectively ruled out.

At a recent meeting, an officer in the transport planning department cheerfully stated: "We do not have a deliverable transport strategy beyond the ring road." Ain't that the truth.

FT Smith,

Ashwood Glade,

Haxby, York.

Updated: 11:59 Monday, September 13, 2004