I AM the last person to advocate building on Green Belt land, but if the pressure for housing and social housing waiting lists are as reported, I don’t see how we can adequately house a growing population only by building on brown-field sites, unless we knock down perfectly good low-density housing and rebuild with high density – which I don’t imagine would be too popular.

Property prices are so high in York, compared to household income, that growth in the economy and new jobs will surely be compromised unless we build – or we become a commuter centre and accept the traffic congestion this brings and York workers spend their earnings in other towns and cities.

It seems to me the common sense thing to do is to assess what housing is needed to support York’s economic competitiveness, identify where it can least painfully be accepted, and protect everywhere else, giving a long-term plan and peace of mind to communities in the Green Belt.

This seems to be what the council is doing.

Simon Winch, York.

 

• IT IS obvious from the photograph (Letters, April 23) that councillors James Alexander and Dave Merrett do not resemble Mystic Meg, even though they are now forecasting the future.

Yes, future plans have to be made given current trends, and there is an immediate urgent need for more cheap housing. This should be their first priority.

There may well be 40,000 more people in York come 2030, but forecasting events so far ahead is a risky business.

Coun Merrett says that there are planned housing targets for every brown-field site in the city. This is good, but all these sites should be fully developed first before any green-belt land is touched. When that has happened, a clearer picture of how many, or all, of the 22,000 proposed new homes are actually needed will emerge.

Geoff Robb, Hunters Close, Dunnington.