JUDGING by the number of letters expressing residents’ concerns over proposals for the new local plan, particularly in relation to housing provision, is it not time for council members and their officers to take a deep breath, step back from the brink of environmental disaster and have a radical rethink over the policy of unsustainable growth which is driving current thinking?

There is clearly a worry that developers are being encouraged to submit proposals for low-density suburban housing on green-field sites, with no guarantee whatsoever that the necessary infrastructure, both on and off site, will be provided, or that a reasonable proportion will be “affordable”, whatever that may mean.

To imaging that increasing the supply of housing will lead to a reduction in price is a delusion, as long as volume house builders are seen as the solution to the problem.

This theoretical demand for housing is predicated on questionable forecasts for new household formation, and an unpredictable increase in job opportunities for those with suitable qualifications.

Durham’s local plan has recently been rejected as being too ambitious and relying on problematic employment growth.

Much the same could be said of York’s draft local plan as it stands at the moment, relying, as it does, on attracting incomers and inward commuters to service the needs of future employers, thereby exacerbating the housing problem.

While no one could argue against the fact that settlements are subject to constant change, it is how this change can be managed which is, or should be, the subject of debate.

Unlimited economic growth remains at the top of the council’s agenda.

No one seems to be asking the question, why?

Philip Crowe, Clifton, York.