Last Friday, at a housing conference in Cheltenham, Princess Anne entered the debate on the current housing crisis in suggesting that small schemes of between six and 12 houses could be scattered around villages throughout England.

If enough communities agreed to such proposals then, she says, it would not be necessary to build large developments of up to 15,000 houses, or the new towns that are being proposed in southern England.

Here in Great Somerford outline planning consent was granted in January 2006 for 30 houses on an agricultural brownfield site, and reserved matters were approved after some delay in January 2009. Several years later, and there is no sign of the houses being built.

Under the Localism Act 2011 and Neighbourhood Plan regulations 2012, towns and villages are encouraged to establish Local Development Plans and are required to identify land suitable for development.

However, I understand that only to a limited extent can land with existing planning consent be taken into account when considering further development. So, in Great Somerford we have the certainty of at least 30 new houses being built and, before we know whether or not this development is sustainable, we will probably have the threat of many more houses. Not a very satisfactory position.

According to the Labour Party leader, Ed Miliband, too many developers are sitting on land which has planning permission, and they are not doing anything with it. He has suggested that, if they are waiting indefinitely for better profit-making opportunities, they should be required to sell it (perhaps to local authorities), to ensure it is developed without unnecessary delay.

Although Princess Anne’s and Ed Miliband’s proposals lack detail, both of them, in principal at least, would seem to have merit.

Christopher Blount, Great Somerford.