General English Level 6 Version 2.1 © 2004 acl Pty Ltd GELEV6 Unit 02 Topic 03.doc UNIT 02 What do you think? TOPIC 03 A letter to the editor  READING 01 A letter to the editor In my opinion your editorial, “A new tower for York square?”, was totally biased and very much pro-development. Let’s look at the other side of the argument. Firstly, your claim that our city skyline has ’little of interest’ is nonsense. Our skyline has many beautiful old buildings. For instance, the King George building is a wonderful example of 19th century architecture. In fact, it’s the recent developments that don’t add much to our city skyline. The proposed tower is a good example of this. A lot has been said about how much retail and office space it will be provide, but little has been mentioned about its design and size compared to surrounding buildings. Secondly, you don't mention that there has been little public consultation about the proposed construction and its effect on our heritage. You suggest that people who value heritage are not moving with the times. This is false. For me, heritage is about a sense of place, about where I live and work. It is about what happened in those places in the past. Buildings like the King George are links to this past. They show us how we arrived where we are now. Surely then, it is necessary for the community to have a say in what we demolish and what we leave for future generations. Thirdly, your editorial argues that the poor facilities of King George are a good reason for knocking it down. Although I agree that the facilities are poor, I believe there are alternative solutions to demolition. What about renovation of the existing building? Look at Customs House. They’ve kept its beautiful old exterior and put in a modern interior. Now it’s a city landmark. It is true that renovation would be financially costly, but what are the costs of demolition and the construction of the new tower? Finally, your definition of a successful city, one that accommodates more offices and companies, is too narrow. For me a successful city is one that is well planned and has a mix of past and modern architecture. It is a place where its population feels a sense of ownership and pride. Financial wealth is important but a city that lacks culture and diversity is not a successful city. To sum up, the demolition of the King George building would be a great loss to our city. We need more community debate. The people of this city need to have a greater say in what we build and what we keep. Rani Singh Dictionary biased claim proposed ownership pride debate lack 49