SIR - I was elected to the city council in May of 1996 and served eight years. In that time I became passionate about social housing - a passion that has only gets stronger as I get older.

Worcester City Council, like many others, was forced to sell off its housing stock. The stock was sold off to a newly formed housing association, Worcester Community Housing.

You cannot argue that the standard of the housing stock has been greatly improved over the last six years and our estates have become cleaner and safer. Just late last year WCH was granted planning permission to carry out some new-build low-cost social housing on a former garage site. New build was something the council was never able to achieve for many a long year.

Like many other housing associations, WCH has inherited a major issue to which there is no simple solution - that is under- occupancy. By that, I mean there are a tremendous amount of social houses that have two and three bedrooms that have either a single person or a couple living in them.

GARY KIBBLEWHITE, Worcester.