YOUR heading over the letter from Kenneth HW Campbell (“We must find a way to provide new housing stock for rent”, The Herald, April 20) makes it clear that his letter relates to houses for rent. However, I would suggest that Mr Campbell's point regarding the shortfall in the starter home market raises an issue relevant to what is provided by the private sector house builders across the country generally.

Your front page article today reports on local concern over the private housing development now approved by East Dunbartonshire Council, ignoring the advice of its own officials, for the former Lenzie Geriatric Hospital site (“Claim NHS abandoning elderly with hospital site homes plan”, The Herald, April 20). You report that in 1998 the council published an agreement with the NHS that the development of the site would be "elderly orientated"(my terminology), this reaffirmed around 10 years ago when architects were commissioned and a full development plan was drawn up.

I wonder if the currently approved private development includes any elements of that plan, such as the 50 one-and-two bedroom homes. Planning authorities appear to place no priority on the private sector provision of small houses suitable for down-sizers, singles and starter homes.

Not too far from Lenzie I see new public sector housing being built by an adjacent local authority including the clear provision of small houses. I doubt if such provision will be evident in many private sector developments across the country.

Duncan Miller,

38 Middlemuir Road, Lenzie.

WHY does the University of Strathclyde wish to build a further 412 houses on Jordanhill Campus (Letters, April 17)?

Having committed itself in 1993 to continue educational uses on this land, within 10 years it broke that promise. In Campus Plan 2 it assured us that Jordanhill Community through the Community Amenity Trust would control the use of the green space as sports pitches for all schools. Once the university gained its outline planning permission that promise too was broken.

If the University of Strathclyde were to get its way the community would be subjected to six to eight years of construction hell, there being only two small accesses off our residential streets to this backland site.

Thus our children will suffer traffic danger for a large part of their young lives. So who will gain from this gift of public land? Only the University of Strathclyde.

Perhaps we will still be welcome to stroll the ancient woodlands? No such luck. They are to be cut off from visits by houses and gardens. The university will create the first suburban gated community in Scotland.

The community will suffer for the university's monetary gain.

Margaret Fletcher,

Southbrae Drive, Glasgow.