Sir, – Readers might have pondered upon the news article on the junction for the Sowerby Gateway not being delivered as agreed and the letter from Joe Salmon of STUFF (D&S Feb 6).

I do not think Hambleton District Council planning officers cannot do their job, quite the opposite in fact.

I think they are very good at their job under the circumstances.

By way of example, Steve Quartermain used to work for Hambleton District Council but left to become the chief planner at the Department of Communities and Local Government – no small achievement in

itself.

The council is also awfully good at applying for grants. In 2014 Hambleton received a grant of £6m from the government's funding for economic growth, whereas Richmondshire District Council received just £1.2m.

Similarly, Hambleton is good at getting other organisations to pay for things it should be funding. As far as I understand, when North Yorkshire County Council was first questioned by Hambleton about traffic it received the reply “we are not your consultants”. By the time of the public inquiry, Phil Broomhead of NYCC would not answer letters to do with traffic because as he said “we are HDC’s partners.”

Consider for a moment not what is said but what actually happens.

I think Hambleton did not insist on a Section 278 agreement under the Highways Act, not because the officers were negligent but rather because none of them are stupid.

It is Hambleton’s policy not to carry out enforcement in full. Sure there are now two enforcement officers who I am sure do their best. But what can they do? Huff and puff and cajole and failing that huff and puff some more.

Next step for Hambleton seems to be to turn a blind eye, probably because legal action costs money.

I have long suspected it is corporate policy not to worry about matters that are not Hambleton's responsibility – eg roads, sewerage, flooding – most things in fact. In this instance the junction is

a traffic issue and would be the responsibility of North Yorkshire County Council or the Highways Agency to pay to sort out.

ALAN McKEE

Brompton Road, Northallerton.