Sir – The survey of residents’ opinions in Drayton, near Abingdon, carried out in the preparation of a Neighbourhood Development Plan has produced some interesting results (as well as an impressive response of over 60 per cent of its 1,900 residents over the age of 14 years).

Fifty people expressed an interest in co-housing; where a community of people live alongside each other on a single site, each household retaining its own private living space but with some facilities being shared by all.

One hundred and forty-five people are keen on self-building and 200 in growing food on a smallholding.

The only unusual thing about Drayton is that its residents have actually been asked these questions.

Similar levels of interest across the county would imply about 9,300 people interested in co-housing, 270,000 wanting the chance to build their own home and 10,000 wanting to have opportunity to work on a smallholding.

However, self-building, co-housing and smallholdings share the problem that they involve the development of land and buildings in ways that fall within the control of a planning system which is indifferent, if not hostile, to satisfying these choices.

The planning authorities are in denial of the ways in which these forms of housing and growing would meet the social, environmental and economic objectives implied by the Government-imposed ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’. Unfortunately, local plans (and appeal decisions) continue to support forms of development that are being shown to be unsustainable.

Even if those people actually prepared to exercise these choices were much fewer, the appetite or interest in these forms of sustainable development seems undeniable. While Drayton can use its neighbourhood plan to steer development in these directions, residents in other parts of the county might be wondering why district planning authorities are not preparing local plans to enable these emerging needs and demands.

Daniel Scharf, Drayton