I READ Derek Matthew's letter about Ian Barker and the housing survey last week with great interest. He may or may not be surprised to learn that Ian Barker's claims were even more ludicrous than they seemed at first sight.

Not only was the housing need survey Barker was so proud of totally unreliable, the council has already quietly abandoned it. Of course, you'll never find them admitting that they've got something wrong but, under the pretext of "updating" the survey, they're actually doing it all over again.

So, not only was the 1995 district-wide statistical survey completely misleading, it was yet another hopeless waste of tax payer's money. It's only use has been to force through unneeded green field housing developments, unwanted by anyone except the housing associations and the planners for reasons the rest of us can only guess at.

Name and address supplied

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