THE future of a scheme to help young people continue to live in Chipperfield is one step closer to success after Dacorum Borough Council last week backed plans for a new housing development in the village.

Lock-up garages at Croft Meadow have been earmarked for the project to build six houses, which will be leased to people on low incomes.

Developer, Hightown Praetorian Housing Association, hopes to overcome the strict guidelines for building on the Green Belt land because it is a small scale, low-cost housing scheme in an area which needs affordable housing.

The housing scheme was initiated by Chipperfield Parish Council and devised to enable people who have grown up in the village to remain in the area.

Residents have also backed the project, saying it is a worthwhile scheme that helps keep the community together.

Clerk to the council, Mr John Pringle, said: "When we first initiated the idea for affordable housing in the village we enlisted the help of the Rural Land Bank, which guided us while we were setting up the scheme.

"We looked at possible sites in Chipperfield but the one at the Croft Meadow has been the most suitable so far.

"If the housing scheme goes ahead the houses should be built in the same character as the village.

"As a parish council we feel we have identified a need in the village for this type of housing and we want to help those people who want to stay in the village but who simply cannot afford to."

The site earmarked for the development is owned by Dacorum Borough Council, which is also enthusiastic about the scheme but has had to refer it to the Secretary of State for review because the land is on the outskirts of the village.

Because the project has support from all sides, it is hoped a public inquiry will not be called.

Chairman of development and control committee at Dacorum Borough Council, Mr Don Bennett, said: "We have a commitment to providing affordable housing not just in town areas but also in rural areas and it is felt Chipperfield greatly needs this."

Property prices in villages in Hertfordshire have soared in the past ten years, making it the third most expensive region in the country.

This has forced young people, who would have preferred to settle nearby, to move away from their families.

Mr Richard Holt at the Kings Langley branch of estate agency Proffitt & Gough, said: "House prices in villages have steadily increased in the past five to ten years.

"People who used to live in London are starting to move out from the city to enjoy village life in places where it is still easy to commute.

"Villages naturally do not have many houses and this coupled with high demand has driven prices far beyond what young people can afford.

"I think we will see a lot more affordable housing schemes across the region because of this problem."

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