SIR – Having read Chris Mitchell’s letter (It’s not the planners at fault, October 8 ) regarding the reversal of the planning committee’s decision regarding Worcester City FC’s Perdiswell planning application, I am struggling to decide as to whether Cllr Mitchell is either mistaken, ill read, or just simply inept. 

As chairman of the planning committee, one would like to think that he gets his facts right before trumpeting his claims.

 Cllr Mitchell states that the application is “for a c 4,000-seater stadium at Perdiswell”. If he had bothered to read the actual planning application, the plans are actually for a circa 4,000-capacity stadium, of which there are circa 500 seats not 4,000.

 Cllr Mitchell also states that “the very same planning committee approved a 4,000-seater stadium on Parsonage Way some five years ago”. Really? Back in 2013?

If that was the case, why did the city council set up a working group in 2016 to identify potential sites in the city for a football club, and it was only at this stage that the Parsonage Way site was suggested!

Why then in 2017, go on to approve the spending of up to £100,000 (£57,000 finally spent) on a feasibility study into the Parsonage Way site, if according to Cllr Mitchell, the planning committee had already approved plans year before. 

 If this is an example of Cllr Mitchell’s diligence and eye for detail in carrying out his role, it’s little wonder the planning and development of Worcester appears to be such a shambles.

Steve Blight

Worcester