A BID to help key workers get on the property ladder in and around Harrogate will be made this week.

Harrogate Borough Council's cabinet will meet on Wednesday to discuss recommendations for helping workers, including nurses, buy their own homes.

Average house prices in Harrogate are 8.6 times the average income of a worker in the district that stretches from north of Masham, near Ripon, to north of Leeds.

Average overall property prices in the district in November last year were £230,859, while the national average was £182,920.

An average terrace property in the Harrogate district was £174,584 compared to a national average of £139,122.

The area includes what has been dubbed the Golden Triangle, including Harrogate, York and Leeds, where prices have soared.

A report to the cabinet by housing strategy officer Dawn Saxby says the council's inquiry is an interim one, pending wider research into housing needs of key workers in the triangle.

Mrs Saxby suggests developing better links with private landlords able to share information on property availability. Another recommendation is to investigate restricting low-cost home ownership opportunties to people employed in the district.