HOMES for young people struggling to get a foot on the housing ladder in Lindford is a top priority for those living in the village - a new survey has revealed.

A special housing needs survey was carried out by Community Action Hampshire, on behalf of the parish council, to discover the real needs of the villageÕs residents.

The results were reported back to MondayÕs meeting of Lindford Parish Council.

Although, as expected, a sizable number of respondents expressed the view that no more homes were needed in the village - the survey showed that more than 30 low-cost and affordable homes were already needed.

Of those that answered the survey 31 households revealed that now, or within the next three years, a home would be needed. And with only four of that figure already on the housing register, a significant number of those in need are young adults who cannot afford to leave home.

Council chairman Ian Skelton-Smith said: ÒThe highest priority was housing for young people. People are just not able to by houses in this area.Ó

Rocketing house prices and record lows in house building across the UK are among the main culprits for the struggle of the villageÕs young people. But the parish council can now use the figures gathered as ammunition to meet its own existing and future housing needs.

If developers seek planning permission to build more homes in the village, as is widely anticipated at the bottom of Chase Road, the council now has the evidence to argue that Lindford needs smaller, low-cost homes and affordable homes for rent instead of large and expensive executive-style homes.

The council can also push for a small number of new homes to be built outside of the villageÕs settlement policy boundary which would be exclusively for the villageÕs residents who are in need.

This could be in the form of affordable homes for rent or other low-cost purchase schemes such as shared-ownership where the buyer purchases a percentage of the property from a housing association to help them get a first foot on the housing ladder.

The parish council agreed to examine in detail the results of the survey before agreeing its next step.