AS house prices rocket in rural areas of Ryedale, calls have been made for a change of attitude towards providing affordable housing for the district's young people and families.

Unless it happens, the area is in danger of having an imbalance in its communities, believes Coun Gaynor de Barr, chairman of the Ryedale branch of the Yorkshire Local Councils Association, the voice of nearly 100 villages.

Coun de Barr, a member of Kirkbymoorside Town Council and a former town mayor of Pickering, was reacting to news that the average house in North Yorkshire now costs £182,280 and, say Halifax estate agents, the annual rate of house-price inflation in Yorkshire and the Humber is now 28.3pc - well above the UK average of 18.5pc.

The average house price in the region is £106,421, compared with the UK figure of £147,785, but in some parts of the region, prices have soared by 91pc over the last three years, says the Halifax, making it the third highest increase of all the British regions. The Halifax's survey reveals that prices in Yorkshire have risen by 373pc in the last 20 years.

Chris Stonock, regional manager for Halifax Estate Agents, said: "Yorkshire and the Humber has had a buoyant start to the year, with prices pushing through the £100,000 barrier. We see a strong market for the rest of 2004, albeit with slower growth than the last 12 months."

Brian Clark, chief executive of Ryedale Housing Association, said there were now over 1,000 people on its waiting list for homes.

The cost of a property had not been a major issue until the last two years, during which time prices had risen substantially.

There are plans to build about 150 new homes a year in Ryedale, but the association faced difficulty in obtaining sites due to a lack of availability, and the cost, coupled with competition from other developers.

Coun de Barr says the issue of soaring house prices and the lack of low-cost homes for young people is worrying many parish councils and was raised at the last meeting of the local councils association.

"There is a need for alternative ways of providing such accommodation, because the cost of a house is escalating in Ryedale," she said.

"The parishes are very concerned about how young people are going to be able to get on the property-owning ladder because of the rising cost of property."

Coun de Barr believes new approaches need to be explored, as well as the conventional method of homes being built by housing associations.

She added that, while most communities recognised the need for affordable homes, there was some apprehension because there was the perception that such accommodation attracted people from outside the Ryedale area.

"There has got to be a change of mindset," said Coun de Barr. "We have got to move away from the view that low-cost housing attracts problem families because it is not so."

One of the issues concerning the parish councils is the need to attract university graduates back to Ryedale once they have obtained their degrees.

"We have an increasing number of specialist high-tech firms in the district and they need such people."

Conversion of large buildings into accommodation for young professionals would provide one answer, Coun de Barr believes.

In the Yorkshire Dales market town of Hawes, where property prices have increased to a minimum of £140,000 due to people snapping them up for second homes, and to a flood of retired couples moving into the area, a new initiative has been launched. Investors who want to pump cash into the property market, and also help the community, place their money in a shared pot. This is put towards the cost of half a house, with the would-be owners supplying the rest of the money. The householder then has the option of steadily buying more of the house over the years as they can afford it, giving the investors a decent return on their money.

The scheme, due to be set up later this year, is being backed by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, the Joseph Rowntree Trust, and the Dales Society.

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) in Yorkshire says it is becoming increasingly concerned that an inadequate supply of rural housing is making it difficult for rural people to afford to stay in their communities.

Dorothy Fairburn, the regional director, said: "The pressures on rural housing are likely to increase unless urgent action is taken.

"The national debate on housing and planning policies are neglecting the growing crisis in housing in rural areas, particularly in villages. The problem of affordable housing cannot be addressed in isolation from the insufficient supply of rural housing as a whole."

The CLA's recommendations include a re-think of planning policies, converting redundant agricultural and commercial buildings, encouraging landowners to provide affordable housing for local people, and for care homes to be provided in the countryside where older people can be accommodated close to their families and friends.

A spokesman for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Ian Perry, said: "The shortage of housing in the UK is continuing to underwrite price growth. Big rises and the lacklustre performance of the stock market in recent years have also led to residential property to be perceived as the golden asset class. The reality ten years from now may be very different given that economic conditions change, as demonstrated in the early 90s. But for the present at least, sustained rises and limited supply spells capital gains for home owners.

"This is not good news for first-time buyers and those locked out of the housing market by the same price rises that have so benefited others. An interesting question to ask is how any present or future UK government will find the political will to build the number of houses required to halt this trend, especially with the financial interests of so many voters at stake."

Updated: 10:59 Wednesday, April 21, 2004