Sir — You may well be correct (Leader, September 12) in your suggestion that the Government is unlikely to change its mind over the urban extension south of Oxford. But, if so, why is it currently engaged in conducting a 12-week consultation on whether the urban extension should go ahead or not? If politicians have already made their minds up, no wonder they lose the trust of us, the general public.

Whilst on politics, it is worth pointing out that the area of land which the city council wishes to take into the city from South Oxfordshire is several times larger than the acreage needed for the urban extension the Government wants. All of it is Green Belt, extending over parts of four parishes, and if the city were to be successful in acquiring it, the council would have a land bank for even bigger developments. Is there a hidden agenda somewhere?

The city council also supports the eco-town project at Weston-on-the-Green where a quarter of the site is in the Green Belt. I wonder if the council knows that the experience of the company wishing to develop the site is not in affordable housing but in building big sheds, ie distribution centres with warehouses and lorry parks? This is hardly eco-friendly but from their point of view a location close to the motorway junction is, of course, ideal.

In ways such as these our Green Belt countryside is gradually being lost.

Ian Scargill, Chairman, Oxford Green Belt Network