Sir – Yes, we would all like more homes for those needing them urgently but are the city and county councils looking at the impact on public transport that all these developments will have?

Barton Park with 885 new homes will add about 2,000 more people, the Northern Gateway will not only add domestic units and the people will want to travel into the centre of Oxford sometimes, but also a high number of job units.

While many of those working in the new estate will come from outside the city, not all of them will. Now we hear about 3,000 new homes on the edge of the south of the city. This will add about 7,500 people to the numbers needing access to the centre. The bus companies say they have reached the maximum number of buses that they can put through the centre of the city. Where will all these people go? Because of the medieval buildings and the rivers there is no possibility of increasing the infrastructure unless we go underground. Would this really be possible even if we could afford it ?

You may be interested to know that Mark Fransham [of Oxford City Council] sent my colleague figures in 2013. which showed a 31 per cent growth in population in Temple Cowley between 2001 and 2011 and a seven per cent growth in Blackbird Leys.

Although this refers to only two areas of Oxford, they indicate increases in the number of people over ten years. While some new housing had been built in Temple Cowley, it did not in any way account for the massive 31 per cent increase in this area.  So our population is not only being increased when new homes are built but it seems will also be increased by more people living in existing properties. All of this impacting on public transport. Can we realistically continue in this way or will this ultimately lead to the city having to demolish some colleges when there is absolutely nothing else that can be done?

The problem with the tunnels is having enough space for the entrances and exits. Maybe the county council needs to look again.

Sarah Lasenby, Oxford