THE Government is being urged to tackle the shortage of affordable homes in the countryside.

The Country Landowners Association (CLA) says the availability of homes that people can afford is key to local job opportunities and the survival of village shops and schools.

Responding to the Government's Green Paper on housing, the CLA urges Ministers to include extra measures to assist low cost housing.

The association says there is a need to relax Capital Gains Tax rules to help reinvestment, and to broaden legislation governing agricultural tied dwellings.

Dorothy Fairburn, regional director for the CLA in Yorkshire, said: "New small business ventures are often hampered by the lack of affordable housing for employees.

"There is a need to revise the occupancy requirement of agricultural tied properties to assist the needs of farm diversification which the Government is encouraging.

"Low cost rural housing is something important to the countryside if we are to help new businesses, and local planning authorities should be encouraged to look at sites which would not normally be identified for housing needs."

The CLA is calling for surveys by local authorities to determine specific housing need, with the results made available to land owners and those involved in the provision of affordable housing.