IN reply to Janet Sanderson’s letter, last year she voted to give Wentworth Street car park planning permission for a superstore at a meeting of the planning committee.

The council had previously decided to sell the car park if it was given planning permission. So by voting in favour of a superstore, she endorsed the sale.

She also voted to refuse planning permission for the redevelopment of the livestock market at the same meeting.

It was these two decisions which led to the public enquiry and the award of costs against the council – probably about £200,000. So Janetdoes share responsibility for this waste of taxpayers’ money, and it does her credibility no good to deny it.

She has also voted for the sale of the Norton Bowling Centre and that Malton and Norton should accept half of all new housing in the district.

My remarks about pagodas followed a suggestion that if churches cannot pay for the maintenance of closed graveyards, they should be sold.

I pointed out that if churches were sold for supermarket or housing development, this could result in a complete change of the English landscape – rather like China without its pagodas (most of which, incidentally, have been demolished by the Chinese communists).

This comparison was perfectly relevant to the debate, and it is a pity that Janet can’t get the point.

This was only part of a debate about public maintenance of closed graveyards, and when members are only allowed three minutes to make a speech, I doubt if my mention of pagodas lasted more than 30 seconds.

And in any event, no amount of personal criticism or petty vilification from her will stop me from standing up for the interests of the residents and businesses of my ward.

Unlike her, I have no party line to follow, and have never walked out of a council meeting simply because I couldn’t stand the pressure or the criticism.

Coun Paul Andrews, Malton ward