A SCHEME to build an estate of low-cost homes in an area where first-time buyers have often been priced out of the market has been given overwhelming backing from councillors.

Outline permission for the 23-home scheme at Chain Lane, Knaresborough, has been granted by an area planning committee of Harrogate Borough Council.

All the properties will be low cost, but the authority's planning committee chairman, Councillor John Smith (Knaresborough), said it had not yet been decided how the homes would be offered.

One suggestion was that 30 per cent should be on a shared ownership basis.

This would involve residents paying a half ownership share, with the other half retained by a housing association to keep the properties affordable when re-sold.

Another idea was to make the new homes 100 per cent available for rent via a housing association.

Coun Smith said a final decision on this would be made by the council's cabinet member for housing.

After hearing that the scheme had been approved, Coun Jean Butterfield, cabinet member for housing, said: "I would be keen to see some shared ownership because I think it is important to look after people who need to get a foot on the housing ladder."

She pointed out that the homes would only be available to residents living in the Harrogate district.

Although outline permission has been granted for the scheme, the council's head of planning, Tim Richards, has been asked to give a final decision on where to site some of the new homes.

They are three-storey flats, the siting of which sparked complaints to planners.

Knaresborough is in the so-called Golden Triangle for high property prices, bounded by the Harrogate district, York and north Leeds.

First-time buyers have been priced out of the market in the Harrogate area because the average prices for modest terraced homes have hit more than £174,500 according to latest figures.

Planning officers had recommended approval of the low-cost scheme.

The application was tabled by Yorkshire Housing and will see homes being built next to a playing field at Forest School.