SIR — After the council’s shameful surrender to government pressure to develop Barton Farm, we now face development on Winchester’s southern fringe at Bushfield (Chronicle, May 7).

When former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, referred to the clawing greed of government ministers and many MPs, some of us might have thought this was just a Westminster problem.

Unfortunately, greed appears to be alive and well in Winchester.

How else could one explain the willingness of local politicians, institutions and developers to wreck our environment, reduce our quality of life, undermine our health, and reduce our future food security by developing the historic green landscape setting of Winchester?

I’m sure that when Winchester College sold Barton Farm to a developer, they felt they could justify their windfall millions of pounds.

And, given their past investment failings, the Church Commissioners can surely justify their need for the money they would get from developing Bushfield.

But, like those greedy MPs, while it may be legal to obtain money in this way, is it moral to injure so many Winchester people and jeopardise our children’s future?

The suggestion touted by Winchester City Council of developing a ‘knowledge park’ at Bushfield would be laughable if it were not so pathetic.

Such ideas might have seemed ‘sexy’ 30 years ago, but we now know that such developments are characterised by boom and bust dynamics, massive influx of economic migrants and increased pressure on local housing, traffic infrastructure and public services.

As a scientist, I have worked at knowledge parks outside Cambridge and Boston, Massachusetts, and have seen these problems first hand.

The dream becomes a nightmare, which in Cambridge is manifested by social breakdown arising from excess inward migration, worsened shortage of affordable housing, unsolvable traffic congestion (despite having five park-and-ride sites!) and a massive increase in crime and anti-social behaviour.

Admittedly a few people at those knowledge parks become millionaires, but then they leave to seek sanctuary in the countryside or places like Winchester.

Let’s not destroy such places. Let’s return all Bushfield to downland or environmentally friendly farming.

Keith Story, St Cross Road, Winchester.