Sir – Henry Brougham and Justine Garbutt’s recent letters regarding the provision of housing not only in Oxfordshire, but across the entire south of England, demonstrate the complexity of the issue. As Liberal Democrat councillors, we take the overarching view that people need homes — and homes that are affordable and appropriate to their circumstances. And the needs of families with children are every bit as important as those of the elderly.

However, such are the competing interests, that what Mr Brougham calls creativity will be required, not just on the part of the agencies and developers responsible for delivering new homes, but also on the part of the communities who have to receive them.

Would we, for example, be willing to accept imaginative and innovative designs if they looked radically different from the traditional model? The reality is that Conservative-led Cherwell District Council ’s draft local plan for 2006-2031 envisages a total of 259 new homes in Kidlington and other villages in the district, a significant number of which have already been built. Clearly, this is insufficient to meet the current needs of Kidlington, especially with regard to affordable housing.

We hope that the Localism Act — as yet untested — will give us the opportunity to challenge this and that we can count on the support of those who share our aspiration to provide an adequate supply of decent, well-designed and affordable homes for our community.

Tim Emptage (Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group ), Cllr Doug Williamson , Cllr Alaric Rose , Kidlington