Sir - Will you please act responsibly and stop endorsing Oxford City Council's view that "50 per cent affordable homes in new developments will make a contribution to easing the housing problem" (Oxford Mail, December 14)?

As long as this is delivered through the planning process, at the expense of the developer, this policy will NOT solve Oxford or Oxfordshire's housing shortfall.

It should be blindingly obvious that if you place the solving of the housing problem in the hands of market forces, the problem will not be solved unless the solution is commercially viable.

As the required percentage of affordable housing within new developments has risen, the number of residential completions has fallen. The policy does not work.

Until someone in the city council is brave enough to admit this, fewer new schemes will be brought forward, particularly now as the open property market has slowed down.

Already, other development solutions are being sought on land that could have been developed for housing, because housing is less viable.

There is an opportunity here. The Government, and our children, are concerned that not enough is being done in terms of environmentally friendly construction. They are right.

Compliance with building regulations does not mean environmentally friendly construction.

Why not reward environmentally friendly schemes by allowing developers to pay less in affordable housing percentage contributions?

If this is done in a commercially sensitive manner, not only would new housing numbers rise, and the numbers of affordable houses within the schemes would increase, but we would also impress our children in prolonging the life of our planet.

As our kids would say, we need to 'get real' about these issues.

TONY WOODWARD

Cornerstone

Littleworth

Faringdon