Housing is the biggest single problem facing Brighton and Hove.

There are people sleeping rough on the streets and thousands more on the waiting list.

Yet the city is trapped between the sea and the Downs. There is no big greenfield site left where new homes can be built and Brighton and Hove City Council is not allowed by the Government to put up any itself.

Faced with this problem, the council is suggesting that developers should put aside 40 per cent of any new housing scheme for low-cost homes.

Naturally this is leading to squeals of protest from developers who can get twice as much from homes on the open market as they can for low-cost homes.

They have been heartened by the results of three separate planning decisions in which independent inspectors have rejected the council's policy.

That's not because it is bad but because it is premature. It still has to be ratified by the Local Plan, which should be agreed next year.

The city faces a shortfall of 27,000 low-cost homes. The demand is growing each year as house prices soar.

Brighton and Hove already has a lower proportion of social housing than most other cities plus a greater demand.

The sooner this policy can come into effect the better. And, for every developer who will be put off by it, there are many others only too happy to build in Brighton and Hove while fulfilling housing need.