MICHAEL Gove is a spineless fence-sitting minister of state.

The planning inspector’s report for 300 homes at Huntington must have been on Gove’s desk for some time now with a recommendation to allow or dismiss the appeal.

No doubt Gove has his eye on the next election and is weighing up voter damage in either case - accepting the inspector’s recommendation or rejecting it.

The Conservative government has pledged to ensure a certain number of new homes are built but at the same time they don’t want to upset objectors who might punish them at the ballot box.

So, everyone is waiting while Michael Gove dithers.

Matthew Laverack,

Lord Mayors Walk,

York

---

York's new buildings 'fail to inspire'

A possible alternative name for York might be ‘Couldbeanywhereville’ to capture

the bland, uninspiring character in too many of the city’s recent additions and development schemes! This isn’t a new point and has been made by correspondents far better qualified than me.

However, as a layman, albeit a ‘Yorkie original’, I can’t help noticing new buildings that fail to inspire, replicating just about anywhere else but not in a good way. Too many of these often too high or out-of-scale edifices, mar or homogenise our once distinctive skyline. Let’s hope that the Minster, St Lawrence’s spire, the Foss Islands chimney and other contributors to York’s profile from different angles, perspectives and distances don’t get swamped.

Three words to concentrate our minds: ‘World Heritage Site’.

Derek Reed,

Middlethorpe Drive,

York

---

Private cars will be replaced by autonomous taxis

THERE were some excellent examples of people resisting change in David Lewis’ letter (The Press, August 4), citing the crackdown on drink driving, mandatory seat belts and the switch to unleaded petrol as examples where laggards bemoaned the change for reasons that are ridiculous in hindsight.

Another example from history is the switch to digital cameras in the late 90s and early 2000s. I recall die-hard photographers claiming they will never switch from 35mm film. Kodak and Fuji were so desperate to cling on to their dying industry that they invented APS film in an ill-fated attempt to stay relevant.

Likewise today, companies like Shell and Toyota are desperate to keep the internal combustion engine and oil extraction going for as long as possible while they continue to invest heavily in fated technology.

The phrases ‘digging their own grave’ and ‘clinging on to a sinking ship’ come to mind. Driving a hybrid car ‘to be green’ is a bit like drinking diet cola with your Big Mac and fries ‘to be healthy’.

Yes, it’s a little better, but don’t pretend your Big Mac meal is healthy or your hybrid car is green. Hybrids are still propelled by refined oil and there’s still an exhaust pipe adding to bad air quality in our neighbourhoods, just a little less so.

I believe neither fossil cars nor privately owned EVs will be the mainstream choice for personal transport next decade. They are expensive assets and parked most of the day. Instead autonomous taxis (an evolution of EVs) will be a financial no-brainer. Except for professional uses, private car ownership will die off, and the laggards will bemoan that.

David Finch,

Chudleigh Road,

Holgate, York