THE latest proposal of the new City of York council leader to force private developers to hand over yet more of their houses and flats as 'affordable' units will do more harm than good (July 26).

It will push regular house prices even higher and at worst will deter house-builders from developing altogether.

No business can afford to sell its goods or services at less than it costs to provide them.

In the case of housing developers, there is no bottomless pot of gold to be raided at will to fund 'affordable' housing. It can only be done by spreading the losses on the 'affordable' units on to the sale price of the remaining houses. If developers are obliged to increase the 'affordable' element from 25 per cent to 50 per cent the consequences for ordinary house prices are obvious.

The proposal to reduce the threshold of provision from 25 dwellings to just 15 will mean that not only large national house-building companies will be affected, but also smaller local firms.

The cost of acquiring new land is so high that some of these local firms may be driven out of business.

However laudable the aim is to provide more 'affordable' homes, the imposition of draconian requirements on private developers is not the answer.

Penalising private enterprise to the extent intended by Councillor Merrett may result in killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Matthew Laverack,

Chartered Architect,

Laverack Associates,

Lord Mayor's Walk, York.

Updated: 10:18 Wednesday, July 31, 2002