Housing density and market forces

Sir, – Some of the new houses being built in the Wicklow area seem to me to be of a certain type – large and expensive.

Some people must need more space than others, but when a precious acre or two of land becomes available, would it not be possible to build much more smaller houses, or even apartments?

I realise that the “market” knows best in a democratic country, but if we insist on gobbling up large tracts of land for relatively few houses, surely there will be knock-on effects. The latter will not be felt by current homeowners, but by their children and the children of others. We might be getting to the stage where not everyone will be able to wander aimlessly in big back gardens – but we do have parks, walkways, canals, rivers and mountains. – Yours, etc,

GERARD COUNIHAN,

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Kilcoole,

Co Wicklow.