In your article “Housebuilders reject ODPM’s latest revision of PPG3” (24 March, page 20), you report on plans to give councils a say in what types of housing are built in their areas.

The frightening aspect of this for me is that the local authority staff who are charged with carrying out or interpreting these “housing assessments” will not have the ability or experience to perform the task.

This will result in prejudiced outcomes and further mess up the relationship between what the customer wants and what is provided. What, for instance, will the local authority do if its survey reveals an overwhelming demand for low-density three- and four-bed detached houses and bungalows?

This proposed revision to PPG3 highlights the fact that the government has no faith in the operation of a free market to match supply with demand. If it thinks it can achieve this using this type of crude interference, then we can look forward to the exacerbation of the problem.

Andrew Hill, land and planning director, Robert Hitchins, Gloucester

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