The Terry's Development Brief Consultation Responses document, available on City of York Council's website, includes many comments to the effect that the Terry's development should include sports and leisure facilities which are available to the general public.

A luxury hotel spa with "membership open to York residents" is not providing sport and leisure facilities for the community. The membership fees charged by a luxury hotel chain are likely to be too high for many local residents.

York has a lack of sport and leisure facilities that are open to all (particularly with the loss of the Barbican facilities) and the Terry's development is an opportunity to address this problem.

Better sport and leisure facilities will also help address other community level issues such as antisocial behaviour by teenagers, health and obesity problems, and so on.

For this reason I don't agree with your leader, or with Steve Galloway's comments about passing the Terry's planning application "as expeditiously as possible".

Jobs are important, but it is also important to ensure that the "most important city planning application in a decade" takes account of the views and needs of York residents.

Josh Mason, Sutherland Street, York.