I WRITE with reference to the development at 1 Hayfield Road, in North Oxford, which includes an electricity substation, highlighted in your report on March 23.

We would like to point out the role played by Oxford City Council’s planning department in this sorry saga.

The department persists in allowing changes to the approved plans as and when requested by the developer.

These changes, which the council unilaterally determines as “non-material” do not allow residents a voice in response.

We think that this is unacceptable and a major worry for all the residents of Oxford who may also find that the planning department decides to ignore contraventions by developers who decide to disregard details within planning consents.

Given that we live in a conservation area, there are clear terms and conditions written into the approval that the planning department is failing to address.

Residents cannot understand why the planning department has decided to take such a laissez-faire attitude to protecting us from developers.

We would welcome a chance to discuss these issues with senior planners on site.

However, the only response the residents have received from the planning department states that it supports these unilateral changes to the design and makes it clear that officers have no interest in either meeting us or addressing our concerns.

It is local residents who have to live with developments being built across Oxford, but without the planning department doing its job properly, we are all in trouble and if they continue to fail in their responsibilities, one could justly argue that the department is simply not fit for purpose.

HARRY HADAWAY,Hayfield Road Residents Association, Hayfield Road, Oxford