IT is to be regretted that the criteria for planning approval now rests on whether council officers suggest to the planning committee that the applicant may appeal and apply for costs, rather than the merits of the proposal.

This has happened twice in the last two weeks, first at Nether Poppleton and now Fountain Street. In both cases committee members expressed concern about the plan but the threat of an appeal influenced their decision.

There seems no need for the latest Government Green Paper on Planning as all opposition to unsuitable developments has now been silenced.

Alec Acomb,

Hillcrest Avenue,

Nether Poppleton, York.

Updated: 10:54 Wednesday, March 27, 2002