Oxford Mail readers have been having their say about plans to turn a disused hostel and sports field into ‘affordable’ housing.

The city council has opened a public consultation on plans for 61 new homes in Littlemore.

The council’s housing company Oxford City Housing Ltd (OCHL) intends to build 51 flats at the Northfield Hostel site off Sandy Lane and 10 houses on the adjacent sports field.

Flats will be built on the disused land of Northfield Hostel which closed as residential accommodation for a special school in 2014.

All 51 flats will be ‘affordable’ and let at social rent or another affordable tenure such as shared ownership and the 10 houses will be for market sale.

Shared ownership is intended for first-time buyers to take their ‘first steps to home ownership’ in Oxford, which is the least affordable place outside London, with the average house price being 17 times the average salary in the city.

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Readers have been giving their views on what they think is affordable in terms of monthly rent or monthly mortgage payments for certain types of properties.

MICHELLE WRIGHT: “My daughter pays rent of 850 a month for her ‘affordable home’ in Oxford - I have the same house (new build) in swindon and pay £520 a month. So Oxford’s affordable homes are not!”

CHISTOPHER BENTON: “Great - however the cost will be the land the homes are built on, that’s the expensive part as it’s Oxfordshire - the house itself is cheap - it’s why at present well never have affordable housing unless it’s social/council homes owned by the council.”

CRAIG HURN: “Affordable homes - does Oxford City Council actually know the meaning?”

JAMES WEBB: “About time something was done with that land.”

LAURA SIMPSON: “ It looks like they’re finally going to do something to the little field where I used to live! How many years since it was mentioned?"

HELEN SIMPSON: “That was years ago they were talking about that.”

JACOB WEDDELL: “As long as they are affordable it makes sense to build on this site.”

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STUART WILLIAMS: “What is the standard which is being used to determine the word affordable? Affordable to who?

RICHARD HUTT: “’Affordable’ or what local people can actually afford?”

ALAN PEARMAN: “About time something was done about that wasted area. But ‘Affordable Housing’ does not exist in Oxford.”

KAREN MUSILOVA: “I doubt they’ll actually be affordable though.”

CALLY HILL: “No such thing as affordable housing.”

JENNIE WHITELOCK: “Cally Hill no there isn’t, have you seen some of the rents being charged by housing associations these days. In whose world is £800 for a three-bed house affordable.”

STUART WILLIAMS: “15 years ago I paid £725 for a two-bed bed flat in Madley Park.”

DERMOT NOLAN: “They’re not affordable.”

SALLY RIDGE: “My kids wont (like many others) be able to afford the ‘affordable housing’ Oxford born and bred too!”

NEIL EARL: “Basically no good for anyone who relies on a car to get about.”

COLWYNN PHILLIPS: “The term affordable is a little generous.”

DEBBIE HOPKINS: “There never will be affordable homes in Oxford.”

KEVIN WEST: “How can you build that many homes on a small site like that unless they are going to be expensive broom cupboards?”

APATI ZSOLT: “Affordable - ha ha. How much are the actual costs on materials and working hours?”

GORDON BRITTON: “It’s about time the council started building houses for people to rent.

“Everyone knows that there are no ‘affordable’ homes for the needy.

"Why when council homes were sold off in Thatcher, didn’t the councils reinvest to build more?”

RETHE HURN: “Gordon Britton yes that’s true. I think she said they were going to be replaced etc. So what happened to that?”

KELLY DOHERTY: “Eileen Kennedy - it’s right next to you.”