Your article on the rejection of the retrospective planning application for the new housing development in Kings Cross Road, Summertown, Oxford (Oxford Mail, January 12), raises serious issues about the whole system of planning control.

Quite clearly, the matter of design quality is way down the agenda of the legislators who designed and the officers who operate the system.

This case shows that the only guardians of our heritage and the built environment are local residents and their elected representatives.

Only their dedication and commitment stands between us and the slums of tomorrow.

As long as this is the case, the fine words of the city council's area action plans, which are supposed to produce improvement in the built environment, are nothing more than that.

It is ironic that, while Oxford is considered worldwide to be a beautiful city, not an iota of credit for that can be taken by the planning system.

The reverse is actually the case -- the failure of the system to produce good urban design is demonstrated all too clearly down every one of our streets. This case also shows that far from being penalised, developers who build whatever maximises their profits, regardless of consent, or lack of it, stand a better chance of having their schemes rubber-stamped.

It was only the last-ditch efforts of large numbers of local residents, and the responsibility of the councillors of the north area committee, which has put a fly in the developers' ointment.

One of the prospective buyers, Eddie Duller, is churlish to accuse the councillors of pettiness.

It was only their courage which, hopefully, has stalled serious degradation of the local environment, and frustrated the most cavalier flouting of the planning system.

Peter Thompson, Lonsdale Road, Oxford