Sir – I agree with Philip Pullman and Clive Ricks (Letters, January 1) on the difficulty of commenting on the Vale of White Horse Local Plan 2031.

The plan is crucially important in directing where new housing developments can take place, and especially in relation to the Green Belt. The Vale seems to be out of touch with the public’s needs and not responsive to requests for help.

I failed in my first attempt to input comments into the Vale’s online consultation system. But I was successful the second time.  Some people emailed their responses, while many others gave up completely. Layla Moran, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Oxford West and Abingdon, considered the very difficult process a disgrace, especially as the period for submission was so close to Christmas.

It would appear that the Vale had no idea of the difficulty in submitting comments using the online consultation system. They were out of touch with the public, who desperately wanted to comment but who were prevented by the very system which should have helped them. In addition, the system supplier did not respond to requests for help.

This problem would have almost disappeared if the Conservatives had listened to the Liberal Democrat district councillors in the Vale full council meeting on October 15. We called for a comprehensive review of the Green Belt and a review of the number of houses required by the Strategic Housing Market Assessment. This would have removed four strategic site allocations from the Green Belt and reinstated its original boundary.

This inadequate consultation is another example of the Conservative-led administration not listening to residents.

In the Lib Dem budget we will be including a proposal to improve communications with the public and be more responsive to problems. We would like to start in May.

Dr Dudley Hoddinott, Liberal Democrat district councillor for Cumnor and Appleton, Cumnor Hill