IN response to the letter by D Ross headed “public duty” (HAS, Mar 20), I have made my views known since the original Cabinet meeting held in February 2018, and was the only one to do so.

I also submitted my opposition, as did almost 1,000 residents of Durham, to the building of the new Durham County Council HQ.

The decision, on the new building, was made by the County Planning Committee, and all the opposition councillors voted against the proposal, so therefore if any blame needs apportioning, that should go to the Labour Party, as all their members voted in favour.

Having spoken against the new HQ many times, I can only assume that the writer is not a regular reader of The Northern Echo, or he/she, would have been well aware of my views, and those of Durham residents. For further clarification I am very easily contactable.

County Councillor John Shuttleworth, Durham County Council