It has long been the contention of the Telegraph & Argus that house developers should be doing much more to utilise existing plots of land rather than attempting to build on green fields – that is the key tenet of our Save Our Green Spaces campaign.

From a profit point of view, it is of course easy to see why the developers would rather go for potential sites on which they might build more expensive houses in rural or semi-rural locations.

But while that might make good business sense for them it does not particularly help those who are struggling to get on the housing ladder, particularly right now as the housing market is recovering and there is talk of yet another housing bubble.

A prime example of the attitude of developers is the fact that a piece of land in Bradford which was marketed as a potential housing site by owners Bradford Council has not had any interest.

The Council is to be commended for pushing forward with its own plan to build 36 homes which would be rented out as social housing – exactly the sort of housing which this area needs.

But it is the private developers who must be convinced to follow suit, and to build mixed-use developments – a combination of homes for sale with some social housing among them, to both ensure a good mix of residents and to trigger financial contributions from the housebuilders to help infrastructure such as local schools cope with the influx of new people.

Housing bubble or no, there are only so many people who want or can afford premium homes in high-end rural locations. If the economic recovery is to be a success, people at all levels of society must be catered for when it comes to buying their own homes.