Sir, I am disturbed by the lack of discussion of the proposed Westgate expansion, which comes up for planning approval soon. Many important features of this development are being ignored.

The enlarged Westgate would be three times the size of the current centre. At 750,000 sq ft, the plans are more extensive than the entire Oracle shopping and leisure centre in Reading. Built at the core of a congested town, Westgate would be one of the biggest city centre shopping centres in the country. Based on the experience of comparably sized shopping developments, it will attract 20m shoppers a year, or well over 50,000 people a day.

The Westgate planning application asserts that the number of extra cars coming into the city centre will peak at 40 an hour. Many residents may find it inconceivable that such a centre will generate so little traffic. People may similarly question the developer's view that 16 per cent of employees are likely to cycle to work and ten per cent walk, since relatively few of these people will live within the city boundary.

Concerns over air pollution are waved aside. Officers at the city council appear to be saying the Westgate development will add about 20 per cent to the already illegal levels of nitrogen oxides. The developers have given no clue how they will reduce this. As far as I can tell, the city has had no independent investigation of the impact of this £300m development on traffic congestion and air quality. People concerned about the absence of careful analysis of these proposals should attend the planning committee meeting at 6pm on October 30 in the Town Hall. We can also ask to speak. It is not too late to get this development scaled down. The extra space can be devoted to urgently needed social housing.

Chris Goodall, Oxford