NO Geoffrey Williams, I can not let you get away with the scurrilous letter you wrote on planning in this paper on Saturday, April 16.

You are far too experienced to believe that any member of the planning committee would come to a meeting with a pre-determined view, especially one drawn on party political lines. I expect an apology as I suspect do other members.

Yes, there is a debate to be had about continuing to build houses on windfall sites, when we can already see that we will meet the 2011 quota imposed on us by Government.

It's not even as if we can carry over any extra houses to the next Plan period beyond 2011. Further, we now have a situation where some developers are seeking to knock down perfectly good and habitable houses to create artificial "brown field" sites for 20 or so units of accommodation.

This is not just a problem for the "leafier" parts of Worcester. It may have escaped your attention that the density of houses in Dines Green and Ronkswood, for example, is quite small enough to be bulldozed down so as to put in higher numbers of flats, and so on. I hope there is no chance that any planning committee would give a general agreement to such an idea. Equally, you know that your cheap crack about social housing being lost is wrong.

Let's face it no one has complained louder than you that these developers of windfall sites always manage to bring in schemes just below the magic 25 units trip for the provision of social housing. I don't have the figures with me but I suspect that the number of rented properties on windfall sites over the last two years has been pitiful. So stop nasty party political point scoring and let's work together to get the best deal for all areas of Worcester and all classes of house.

BARRY MACKENZIE-WILLIAMS,

Councillor, Bedwardine Ward.

Worcester.