SIR — The question as to how to provide affordable, secure rental housing is becoming more urgent by the day and must be addressed to avoid a catastrophe in the near future. A strong affordable rental base would overcome the mismatch between the fact that there are few secure jobs available but people are expected to tie themselves to one area by buying a home with a mortgage over which they have no control. The proposed Local Development Plan for West Somerset states that 2,900 new homes will have to be built in the district by 2032 and 60 per cent will need to be "affordable". Housing for families and for those with extra housing needs is currently well met in this area by Magna and other social landlords, and private developers are building family-size housing for the open market. The supply of secure, sustainable one and two bedroom homes for general need residents is very uneven and will be under huge strain during the construction of Hinkley C. It is obvious that the market will not provide the really affordable housing which is needed and the people who buy or rent any new open market housing will not have any say in its design or sustainability (that is, whether or not it will be affordable to actually live in). A way of providing secure, affordable and sustainable housing is to use housing co-operatives or community land trusts to build or refurbish existing buildings. In Britain, less than one per cent of housing is provided this way, while in Sweden it is 18 per cent and in USA and Canada around 30 per cent, most of it long term rental. Forum 21 has generously provided a small grant to enable Transition Minehead and Alcombe to investigate which form of co-operative housing or housing trust might benefit residents in West Somerset and establish a means to achieve it. This has partly been prompted by the realisation that there are increasing amounts of empty buildings in the area which could be used for housing, as well as some sites with planning permission which have not been developed. Anyone interested in this issue either as a prospective resident, including possible self builders, or as a supporter, can get in touch with us and is invited to visit the site being developed by Somerset Co-operative Community Land Trust in Taunton with us on December 19. Also a report from the small local working party is available from me at [email protected]">[email protected] or 01643 709478. Cllr Maureen Smith, Secretary, Transition Minehead and Alcombe.