LOOKING across the river the other day, after the piece on the proposed development of an "upmarket restaurant" by the Helmsley group (March 29), I was surprised that the new restaurant appears to be sited at the location of the existing public toilets.

I was surprised no mention of this was made in the report.

Presumably, the toilets are on land owned by the council and not by the developers. These toilets are particularly well located, as they are convenient for users of the Museum Gardens, visitors using Marygate car park who have walked along Dame Judi Dench way, and many of the coach visitors to the city who have been dropped off at the Memorial Gardens coach stop.

I did an unofficial poll of people in the Lendal Bridge area and without exception everyone felt there was a greater need for the toilets than another "upmarket restaurant".

Does this description mean that a specific high cover price will be included as part of the planning application? Are we to believe that only the finest chefs will be considered as tenants?

Looking across from the opposite bank, the existing site looks attractive already. It is not as though it is an eyesore. Surely what the city needs is the provision of improved toilets, not the removal of the few we have.

C M Fisher,

Skelton Lane,

Wigginton,

York.

Updated: 09:18 Wednesday, April 05, 2006