Debate about capital city is a matter of balance

From: Ken Hartford, Durham Mews, Butt Lane, Beverley.

jonathan Reed’s article suggesting Leeds as probably the best place to create a 21st capital city (Yorkshire Post, February 3) does not, amazingly, mention York, which the Romans originally chose as their most suitable “power centre”.

What matters most in the order of life, in my opinion, is art. The art of living is in evolving a balance in, not only one’s personal life, but for the communal benefit of the whole of the British Isles.

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Born just four days after the Queen, I am not surprisingly a very loyal royalist and have always been enormously impressed by Her Majesty’s decision to include Beverley in her tour of the country a few years ago – which she clearly saw as probably the most artistically cultured town – not city – in the country. Hull University is where most of Beverley’s councillors probably received their education too.

I have lived in Beverley for 11 years and in Yorkshire since the 1960s. I should like to suggest that this demonstrates quite a balanced view of what are the important aspects of human life for me.

The overall decision I come to for every choice about everything in human life is always based on balance.

A centrally sited town with a wide cross-section of people from every part of Britain seems to me an ideal place to establish a new capital.

The alternatives at the moment are either in Scotland or London. Somewhere in this part of Yorkshire – say, York – would surely be more accessible than the extremes of the country.

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