I WELCOME the announcement about affordable housing in York (August 14).

It is crucial the city council act in partnership with other agencies to provide a long-term and feasible solution to the problem.

As a prospective young graduate in York this is a problem I am well aware of.

Young working families and key public sector workers are priced out of the housing market. The scale of this problem is emphasised after browsing the Property Press (August 15); a modest, two-bedroom town house can cost anything between £85,000 and £150,000. A reasonable-size family home can cost more than £200,000.

This market is beyond the reach of the people we need to live in York.

We have a responsibility to provide good affordable housing, with access to local amenities such as schools, child care facilities, shops and places of employment. We also need to provide affordable housing options to key workers in the public sector and young graduates.

Until this problem is resolved the future economic prosperity of York is at risk, not to mention the dire social problems of a real housing crisis.

Rory Palmer,

Farrar Street, York.

Updated: 11:04 Tuesday, August 20, 2002