I WAS ashamed and incensed to read in the Press that the Skeldergate flats, all 145 of them, have now been given approval by a successful appeal against the original refusal by the council (Inspector rules in favour of flats to replace car park, December 17).

The city council did not want this development, the local residents did not want it, local historians and architectural representatives, it would appear, did not want it, but the developers, Bryant Homes did, and they got their way.

What is the point of overriding a planning department in the council, and the citizens of the city? It would appear that Big money gets its way. The development will proceed, far too high for the area and far too close to the footpath. The developers will make their money, move on and do the same somewhere else.

We read in the Press that we have a Vision of York which has now developed into the Without Walls project. This we hope will set the scene and help us decide what is the future for our city. It seems to me that what the citizens want will most definitely not be what we get.

We have some more very big developments in the pipeline planned for the city. If we are not careful we will destroy the very city we love so much, or at least the greedy developers will.

Stuart Wilson,

Vesper Drive,

Acomb, York .

Updated: 11:11 Thursday, December 19, 2002