ONE can sympathise with the residents of Heslington who have been affected by the growth of the university but, surely, only with those who were there before the university arrived.

It was immediately evident when the university opened in October 1963 that it was going to have a huge impact on the local community.

Anyone who has moved to Heslington since 1963 must have done so in the knowledge of that impact and the certainty that it would increase as the university expanded.

Section 26 of the original 1962 University Development Plan clearly indicates that the longer term expansion of the university would be on land south and east of the village; the land where the new campus is now planned.

David Jenkins,

Smary Lane,

Murton,

York.

Updated: 09:51 Saturday, April 23, 2005