I WELCOME the chance to respond to the recent letters and articles on the future use of the council's surplus school site at Oaken Grove.

Since the decision was made in March last year to close Oaken Grove School, my principal role has been to bring forward a range of options for the future use of the site. Key elements which emerged from the consultation process were:

- Enhanced youth provision should be retained on this site

- The existing open space should be made more accessible to the whole community

- There should be a relocation of the associated education providers to the Ralph Butterfield site.

The council's approvals committee agreed the way forward in November.

Essentially the youth and community provision was to be retained as was the 50 per cent use of the site for play area and open space, the remainder being available for disposal for residential use subject to 25 per cent affordable housing provision.

A wider consultation was then developed, including a leaflet setting out the favoured option which proposed a reinvestment of about half of the sale proceeds of this surplus school site back into the local community through enhanced service provision.

Since January there have been more than 25 meetings with community groups and others.

The council has taken an integrated approach to address the wider needs of the community and has sought to come forward with appropriate, and realistic, solutions for which funding can be made available.

Roy Templeman,

Director of environment and development services,

City of York Council, St Leonard's Place,

York.

Updated: 12:16 Thursday, April 04, 2002