I FEAR the new proposed policy of 50 per cent of affordable housing in all new developments is misguided, ill thought out and will have exactly the opposite effect to that intended.

As a developer in York, I can assure readers this policy will result in fewer units being built, because fewer developers will tackle speculative sites and more sites will become marginal, therefore not worth developing.

Landowners will also hold back land hoping for a change in the policy.

We all want to see houses everyone can afford, but this is not the way to do it. There must be a better way.

City of York Council owns prime sites such as the Barbican, Bonding Warehouse and many others which could be developed for affordable housing. In the past developers have paid commuted sums towards affordable housing, for example a minimum of £300,000 was committed to the council from the Westgate development. On these prime sites in council control, substantial numbers of affordable housing could be built using the commuted sums provided by developers.

This is on land which is effectively free and, far from being inferior sites, there would be no difference between private and public development in terms of location.

If the council's policy proceeds as planned, prices will continue to rise because those developments which have been built not including affordable housing will become more attractive and therefore more expensive, while the stock of housing on the market will diminish.

This is a simple matter of demand and supply which at present is not at equilibrium. I urge the council to reconsider its policies before this misconstrued idea has a disastrous effect on housing in the York area.

W J G Reeves,

Managing director,

Helmsley Securities Limited,

Deans Lane,

Pocklington.

Updated: 10:16 Wednesday, September 04, 2002