IT is not planning inspectors who have ‘driven a coach and horses’ through attempts to get a local plan adopted (Ian Gillies: ‘We have delivered on housing for York’, May 7). City of York Council has been repeatedly capable of botching the whole exercise without external help.

I would remind former councillor Gillies that a Local Plan was proceeding to adoption in 2012 until the council caused it to be scrapped. The Labour administration of the day decided to approve the out of town Vangarde development to fund a controversial Community Stadium project in direct contravention of major policies in its own draft local development framework (LDF).

That document was was then being considered by appointed inspector David Vickery who took a very dim view of the matter. The fallout was an abandonment of the LDF at a cost of millions and a return to the drawing board.

The phrase ‘driving a coach and horses’ through its own policies was then used by me to describe the actions of James Alexander’s Labour council.

Ian Gillies has now appropriated that phrase in a criticism of the planning inspectorate which really isn’t justified. The failure to achieve an agreed planning blueprint in York is down to incompetence within the council itself.

Matthew Laverack,

Lord Mayors Walk, York

Groundhog day on A64 dualling plans

THE Press reported that “A64 dualling scheme could be shelved” (March 27). Was this Groundhog Day again?

The A64 is dualled from the A1 to Hopgrove without roundabouts.

Highways England to my eye is not giving money to a road system in the north above Newark.

The north York bypass will always be a traffic nightmare by just renewing roundabouts.

York bypass north need bridges. Spending millions on roundabouts is a no, no.

The A64 made dual carriageway from Hopgrove to the existing dualled section at the Jinnah restaurant seems good until the Welburn turn-off.

The road then has a rollercoaster ride to the Malton bypass.

If that is not sorted, think of the traffic queue down Whitwell Hill.

Bob Allison,

Hawthorn Grove,

Heworth,York