York Property Forum is right to have concerns about the urgent need to adopt York’s draft local plan (The Press, March 5). But it is not right to blame a ‘lack of new homes and offices being built’ on failure to adopt the plan thus far.

Walk around our city centre and you will see cranes and building works: offices and homes at Hudson House; housing at the Gasworks site; hotels along Piccadilly. Before long the council-led Castle Mills development will add to housing being built at Lowfield and planned for Duncombe Barracks, Burnholme and Ordnance Lane (all including 40 per cent affordable).

Yes, we do need the local plan adopting so that we can hold developers to our affordable housing and climate change targets.

However, developers have failed to bring forward brownfield sites they own: 240 apartments were approved for the Barbican site (owned by Persimmon Homes) 15 years ago, yet this is still a wasteland. The former garage at 172 Fulford Road (decontaminated) was refused permission to reopen at appeal five years ago and is still a vacant site, despite clear demand for new housing in the area.

So can the property community please deliver more housing on these brownfield sites before complaining and pressing for release of more agricultural land?

Cllr Andy D’Agorne, Fishergate ward councillor, Broadway West, York