I have to write in support of those protesting about the plans for Rougier Street. In every city, blocks are going higher, and the skyline of all our major cities has changed.

It’s not a bad thing for some. Leeds and Manchester were industrial cities. They have swapped chimneys on the skyline for tower blocks.

York, however, has kept a similar skyline for many years. But the city has high property prices and builders see the potential.

A large portion of the people who move into the luxury apartment developments are moving in from elsewhere. As the advertising hoardings proclaimed in the recent Stonebow development, we are less than two hours from London (only just on the fastest trains) and the price of property here is very attractive compared to the capital. This further pushes York property prices out of the reach of younger people growing up here.

The Rougier Street building will dominate the views from many directions and is generic in modern designs. It is short-sighted for profit, a complex problem of humankind.

Duncan McEvoy, Swinerton Avenue, York