I REFER to the story, Levy boost for town building (Keighley News, February 9).

Firstly, I must say I am in total and complete agreement with the majority of new development being on brownfield sites, and any greenfield sites only being used in very exceptional circumstances.

Yes, we do need to build new houses, but we also desperately need to protect the greenbelt.

We also need to look very carefully at the large number of our existing stock that are empty and unoccupied. Government data shows in 2014, there were 1.4 million such units.

We have had previous initiatives from governments, such as The Housing Market Package in 1993, when there were funds available for housing associations to purchase empty houses, repair them and bring them back into use. This had a large impact on the market and stopped further deterioration of the areas of such housing and, very importantly, reduced the need to build more new houses.

I know no details of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), but your article states it has been introduced nationwide. So, what is happening in other local authority areas? Have planning inspectors in other areas stopped local authorities introducing this charge? Does CIL apply to both brownfield and greenfield sites?

If Bradford Council is not able to introduce the very nominal charge of £5 per square metre of housing built, then what is the point in this levy being set up in Government policy?

If, for whatever reason, this levy is not being allowed, I would hope the council can still use powers it had under Section 106 agreements.

It is essential the council has the power to raise some funds from new developments, such as at the former Brontë Middle School in Bogthorn, Keighley. This is essential because development of such a large site has a massive impact on the local roads and facilities, such as schools. The majority of any levy raised should be retained for local use to reduce the impact of the scheme.

The whole situation has to be very carefully balanced, to make any costs imposed reasonable to the developer and to release funding for local facilities to reduce the impact of such a scheme.

Section 106 agreements have been used for many years and these have generally achieved this balance.You can give the levy a new name but it must still meet the requirements of all parties.

JOHN COLLINSON Oldfield