I’M SURE that Francis Terry and Arnold Rowntree would be turning in their graves if they realised the threat to some parts of York and the surrounding areas by the present mania to build more houses.

It does not seem to matter to the developers, whose sole reason is to make lots of money, what natural beauty is destroyed. I can only hope that good sense and compassion will win and places that are vital for the continuing life of other species than human beings are left alone. England’s “green and pleasant land” is already threatened enough by huge and unsightly developments that offer more and more living spaces and little else.

So let us hope that whatever needs to be done to preserve Askham Bog and other threatened areas can be put in place, for the sake of natural lives that cannot speak or fight for themselves.

I would have thought that Yorkshire Wildlife Trust would stand by its pledge to preserve any Site of Special Interest in the interests of all of us who love our country.

Heather Causnett, Escrick Park Gardens, Escrick, York.