I AM sorry to disappoint your correspondent R Clarke, but I have every intention of responding to Emily Heath and Tom Pinkney (Citizen letters: March 24). They ask people to recall the meeting in the Unitarian Church in November 1997 about the Lancaster South Housing development. I certainly do.

Among the contributions then from members of the Green Party were confident assertions that neither the Local Plan nor our Housing Investment Policy dealt with empty properties or the need to renovate existing properties. Those assertions were wrong then and they are even more wrong now.

No doubt they would say that of course they want to provide decent homes for people in housing need. If they did, I wouldn't doubt their sincerity for a minute - which I couldn't say for some other critics of our housing programme. However, their attitude to meeting housing need reminds me of that of St Augustine to chastity. You will recall that he asked God to make him chaste... but not yet.

Our housing projections are based on a professional, independent survey of housing need in the district. It showed that there were many concealed households in the district whose needs were not being met and who couldn't afford to buy. Despite Heath and Pinkney's assertions, the Local Plan does provide for these people. That is why we set targets of 20 per cent "affordable" housing on all green field sites. These will be planning obligations on developers.

It suits the Greens never to mention the huge investment the council is making in giving a new lease of life for existing, older housing stock. Heath and Pinkney are no exception. We have announced plans for two new housing renewal areas in addition to the West End of Morecambe. £5.2 million will be spent in a major regeneration scheme in Poulton topped up with a further £1.75 million on environmental improvements. In Skerton, £1.5 million will be spent on terraced areas either side of Aldrens Lane.

Heath and Pinkney ignore the efforts we are making to use brownfield sites and to bring empty properties back into use. We have earmarked £0.95 million through our Empty Property Strategy and successfully encouraged housing associations to develop on brownfield sites and in bringing flats over shops back into use.

In short, under Labour the council is committed both to helping those in housing need and to protecting the environment. The Greens, by contrast, promote the environment at the expense of local people in need of a decent home.

Cllr Ian Barker

Deputy leader.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.