I’d love an explanation from our beloved city council on how they reconcile the apparent hypocrisy of granting house-building planning permission.

Sites such as the redundant Plasterers Arms in Old Marston Village with negligible garden space is allowed due to the usual ‘multiple occupancy for maximum profit’ scenario, while they tell the rest of us that we should do more to be ‘green’.

Surely the greenest and healthiest would be achieved by having adequate gardens to grow our own vegetables. But without sufficient garden space allocated to new house plans the only other option is an allotment, which are of limited supply and in the current climate open to being raided by the unscrupulous opportunist thief.

I await the city council’s response with baited breath.

In the meantime perhaps our local parish council could inform us whether they’ve asked the same questions.

Surely they must have, when you notice how upset parish council chairman Charlie Haynes and councillor Mary Clarkson appeared to be at their lack of involvement in the latest three-storey replacement ‘monstrosity’ planned for Marston village.

Obviously there is little to be done with current older high-density properties but shouldn’t all future developments meet the ‘adequate garden’ criteria as an absolute basic green necessity?

This would also lower future flood risk sites – unless ‘the plan’ is to build all future properties on stilts. Now there’s an idea.

MICK HEAVEY

Oxford Road

Old Marston