I HAVE been following the controversy over the proposed development at Derwenthorpe because friends of mine live in Osbaldwick. It is a pleasantly quiet rural area removed from noise and pollution of heavy traffic.

It seems clear from your report (September 20) that the proposed development was already cut-and-dried long before the residents and their local representatives were consulted. This is so typical of City of York Council and the way in which the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Housing Trust ignore and overcome any opposition to their policies and plans.

I am not surprised there are concerns that Government funding for badly needed affordable homes could be lost. But why was this information classified as confidential and withheld from the public?

Surely before JRF decided to proceed with any preliminary work it would have been more sensible to establish the extent of any objection. However it would seem the foundation has, from the beginning, been very confident of overcoming any form of opposition.

Hence my lack of surprise when, on at least two occasions, I have been informed by Hugh Bayley MP and a government department that the Government (which allocates the funds through the Housing Corporation) has no control over registered social landlords such as the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust.

It has been suggested in earlier letters that there are other sites which JRF could utilise and this should have been considered by the council before it entered into what can now be seen as a flawed partnership with the foundation.

Instead the council decided to offer and sell the site to JRF. Considering the very high demand for affordable housing, I believe it reasonable to expect a much higher allocation of 65 affordable homes from an overall total of 540.

Elizabeth Earle,

Dower Court, York.

Updated: 09:18 Friday, October 08, 2004