WORK is about to start on a new affordable housing scheme which will enable families to stay in their village.

Social housing provider Stonewater said the 13-homes scheme at Winterbourne Abbas will help to meet a housing crisis – in villages and rural towns only eight per cent of housing is affordable compared with 20 per cent in main urban centres.

The news on the scheme comes during Rural Housing Week.

Stonewater is working with West Dorset District Council and Glossbrook Builders on the development, a mixture of five one and two-bedroom houses for affordable rent, plus eight two and three-bedroom houses for shared ownership.

Priority for allocating the new homes will be given to those who already have a connection to the local area.

Charlotte Brace, Development Manager at Stonewater said: “At a time when the average person in West Dorset would need a 180 per cent pay rise to afford an average home, more and more young people and families who have grown up in the village are finding themselves forced to move further afield to find a home they can afford.

"Locals looking to rent are also being priced out, with the average rent eating up well over a third of their earnings. This has a devastating impact on the sustainability of village shops and local services."

She added: “These new homes in Winterbourne Abbas are a great example of how housing associations can work with local authorities to tackle this problem, building village-friendly homes that local people can truly afford."

The scheme has received funding from West Dorset District Council and Homes England (formerly the Homes and Communities Agency).

Monica Burns, External Affairs Manager for rural housing at the National Housing Federation, said: “Far too few homes are being built for local people and villages are dying as a result. Young people are moving to cities and often house prices are rocketing. Right across rural England, schools are shutting their doors to pupils. Post offices, which provide vital community services, are closing at a similar rate and countless pubs are serving their last ever orders to locals.

“It’s therefore very welcome news that housing associations are stemming this tide by building the new homes local people desperately need.”

Councillor Tim Yarker, West Dorset District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Housing, said: "Wholly affordable developments of this kind are incredibly welcome as they provide much needed housing for local people and make a valuable contribution to the vitality of their communities."