THE latest executive decision to park Arc Light in the middle of a residential area at Union Terrace beggars belief.

Let us not pretend Arc Light has no consequences. Will City of York Council take positive steps to fight resultant crime and compensate all the affected households? How about the loss of property value? Union Terrace car park has already been severely reduced in size following the sale of council land adjacent to the site.

The car park serves as an overflow for both hospitals, and is the major coach park for the city. What sort of welcome are Arc Light residents going to give much-needed visitors to our city? The consultation process was, at best, a joke, as some councillors could not be bothered to turn up at the meetings and no credence was placed on feedback or petitions.

While I am not personally affected by this, I am sure members of the executive will read this and will want to provide compensation and financial guarantees to local households.

Mr M Jamieson,

Haxby Road,

York.

Updated: 09:36 Saturday, May 06, 2006