You are to be congratulated for taking the initiative on producing your own social housing survey (Oxford Mail, September 30).

It provides shocking reading.

Oxfordshire may be an affluent county (and west Oxfordshire is known to have the highest average household incomes), but there are plenty of people who work very hard and receive lower than average wages.

Small wonder then that they cannot afford to rent on the open market, let alone afford to buy.

I write from experience on affordable housing.

Although my husband and I grew up in Woodstock, we could only afford to buy a one-bedroom house in Witney.

Only after buying a three-bedroom house in Witney could we afford, 13 years later, to move back to Woodstock.

Many other young people have not been so fortunate and face the prospect of never being able to move back.

Your survey is a challenge to our local councils.

Let's hope that the district councillors on these local authorities will not only have the vision to do something about this dreadful problem that is causing real misery for many families.

They also need to have the political guts to override Nimbyism from those who pay lip service to the need for social housing, but try to stifle it when it is near their doorsteps. Sue Costello, Bear Close, Woodstock