I AM responding to the letter from councillors Sinar, Watson and Weltman, “Why didn’t they vote?” Guardian, January 8.

I want to tackle the point made regarding Ed Milliband’s plan to double house building by 200,000 per year.

It is not the number of new homes to be built but how and where they are to be built that is the issue.

Before the last general election, Labour had many projects underway to develop and regenerate brown field sites in many of our towns and cities.

These projects were cancelled by the coalition when they came to power in 2010.

The coalition planning policy gives presumed approval to any planning application and all the cards are stacked in favour of developers and landowners.

We are seeing a growing number of landowners and developers getting outline planning permission and then banking the land.

We are also seeing a charter for developers to acquire only green field or green belt land.

There is even a proposal within the coalition’s growth and infrastructure bill to remove the protection of public footpaths and bridleways from development.

The coalition government have enabled developers and landowners to rip the heart out of our rural communities.

The councillors also say in their letter that they and fellow councillors supported residents in their opposition to development; I am sure they did but surely they realise that in doing so they were fighting their own government’s policy?

Clr Stephen Burns Winsford Swanlow and Dene