I keep hearing that the Government is committed to building affordable housing and wants to cut environmental waste and embrace a more greener future.

This sounds fantastic but just where are these homes and which sector of society are they aimed at who can afford them?

Certainly not many single income workers or even two income workers come to think about it. The amount of deposit is eye watering even for just a 5% stake.

Maybe this is where our Government should step in to help the developers and rule against massive profits going to chief executives and shareholders when more investment is needed.

We waste millions of tonnes of plastic, paper, rubber and textiles every year and much of this ends up in rivers, seas, landfill or incinerators.

Non recyclable plastics and paper could be pressed together to make bricks, car tyres chopped up for other building materials and once rendered or faced then their existence wouldn’t be noticed.

Solar panels air/ground source pumps and reclaiming rainwater systems are all there to be used to make more efficient homes which require much less demand on the national grid and waterways. Better lightbulbs and electrical systems, lower use showers and plumbing and better thought out formats of home design to allow a much greater emphasis on rooms using space should be enforced and in some cases rooms could be made multifunctional by useful storage or integration.

I know it is expensive at the moment but with help these products would become cheaper as more could be made and sold.

The microchip was a hugely expensive piece of technology 40 years ago but look at is now; just a few pence and a hell of a lot more efficient and powerful.

If the average income of a worker (and vast sectors of our society are included in this band) is between £15,000 and £25,000 a year then we surely need homes starting at £75,000 to £120,000 for them to be classed as affordable housing.

Anything else is just forcing people into rent, multiple occupancy, homelessness or living with parents.

We have a limited amount of space so boxing clever is the only way forward to protect future generations from a toxic environment, overcrowding, a lack of wildlife and dumb use of waste.

The only other option is to have 100 to 200 year mortgages that can be passed on from generation to generation or back to the lender if the family line dies out or the current owner doesn’t want it. These mortgages should be flexible to move from area to area and either upgrade or downgrade according to circumstances.

We must change to keep up with technology and open our eyes to green abuse.