EITHER Coun Quinton, Opinions, August 13, is confused about C R Chelverton's development proposals, which is bad enough in the chair of the Regeneration Review Board, or she is deliberately setting out to confuse the public to score a political point, which is far worse.

There is not one Chelverton proposal as she pretends; there are two. The first was a plan for the whole of the Kingsway site. This was turned down by the Cabinet in favour of the Liberty proposals for the northern half of the site only. The second is their new scheme, announced to the Chamber of Commerce, for the whole of the area between Moor Lane, St Leonardgate and Alfred Street and the southern half of the Kingsway site.

Their proposals relate to two different pieces of land; even where they overlap there are important differences.

Coun Quinton's letter treats them as being the same.

It is quite true that we saw some advantages in the first Chelverton scheme, particularly compared to the Liberty scheme. First, as the development brief suggested, it looked at the Kingsway site as a whole.

Instead, the Cabinet went for a quick sale of the council-owned northern half. Secondly, their proposals for Back Caton Road incorporated some bus priority measures, absent from the Liberty scheme and from their new proposals. Thirdly, it had the negative virtue of not incorporating an eight-storey greenhouse as the Liberty proposals do. The Lib Dems and Greens seemed to be at one with the Tories and MBIs in preferring a fast buck, no bus priority and an eyesore on one of the most prominent sites in Lancaster.

The second Chelverton scheme has none of the diversity of uses that the development briefs propose. It has no cultural quarter. It has no plans for community open space and only the vaguest commitment to town centre housing.

It is such an obvious departure from the development briefs that Chelverton should be told now that their proposals are unacceptable. Instead, Coun Quinton obfuscates and advocates delay. Why? What part of the new Chelverton proposals does she find acceptable? We should be told.

Couns Abbott Bryning and lan Barker