THE Heworth Green car park saga continues. A tar well, not cleared in the first decontamination onslaught, is now to be dug out and removed.

The council say it has made arrangements which will have "the least impact on local residents".

So the date for the tar well's removal is March 21 and 22, exactly during local children's school holidays.

The last decontamination also took place in school holidays. Is the choice of dates more to do with student vacations and fewer people to protest?

Actually, protesting won't be easy. Local residents were only given five clear days from receiving their council advice letters and the works start date, while an immediate e-mail to the officer in charge was met with the automated "out of office" reply.

The relevant council officer seems to have gone on holiday and the original officer who could have answered some of the concerns about contamination, or at least understood what it was all about, no longer works for the council.

I thought we were moving to a more inclusive and consultative York. Apparently not.

We are still told what will happen only after it's been decided upon, and there seem precious few people to consult with anyway.

Rosemary Suttill,

Heworth ward planning panel,

Seventh Avenue, York.

Updated: 10:44 Saturday, March 19, 2005