IF COUN Tracey Simpson-Laing wants to avoid a housing crisis and see more homes built in the city (The Press, June 1), then she needs to abandon the ridiculous affordable homes targets the council is imposing and listen to the people who actually build houses.

The present percentages of 25 per cent brown-field, 35 per cent green-field and 50 per cent in small villages is just not working. No one is bringing forward detailed schemes.

Moreover, long-standing planning permissions are expiring all the time. The often quoted 4,000 unimplemented planning approvals are steadily decreasing as they lapse out of time.

If the affordable policy was changed to a more realistic 15 per cent contribution with a threshold of ten units (as suggested by the house-building industry) then there just might be a chance of seeing some new homes being built.

As it is, the new homes bonus scheme from the Government is completely irrelevant and worthless under City of York Council’s present affordable housing policies.

Matthew Laverack, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York.