SUSAN Gonzales’ letter highlighting Oxford City Council’s refusal for a restaurant chain to open in Cowley Centre reminds me of a similar decision involving a clear loss of potential jobs and footfall for other local businesses.

In that instance relating to a badly needed – yet still refused – hotel on the site adjacent to Redbridge Park and Ride, Elise Benjamin described her personal “delight” that a company from outside Oxford had not been allowed to do business and “take money away from the city”. Perhaps the city council will now adopt that locals-first attitude when allocating homes?

DAVID WILLIAMS
David Walter Close, Oxford