I WAS glad to see the County Press's story that brought attention to the home rental crisis that is besetting so many of our fellow Islanders.

The people who are suffering are the very same essential workers what we have been championing for the last year, they are health and shop workers, drivers, teachers, parents and children, who now after the terrible strain of Covid are facing the unacceptable indignity of perilous housing.

Looking at the inevitable trajectory that we are on means a migration of people to the mainland to simply have a roof over their heads, with too many of those roofs in our communities becoming managed holiday lets in someone’s property portfolio.

Yes, the Island needs holiday accommodation — but not as much as it needs securely homed residents to remain a viable community.

Read more: Could the Cornish solution work for the Isle of Wight?

The damage needs to be undone by reversing the tide of holiday lets that from a cursory look on the internet out number long term lets by a staggering one hundred to one.

Tinkering with the council’s local planning strategies will not help in time, we need bold action at government level — as taken by many European cities — to restore the balance that has been lost to protect our neighbours and future generations.

Read more letters sent to the County Press here. Do you have a view on this or any other subject? Send us a letter to editor@iwcp.co.uk