A NEW housing estate made up of 45 affordable homes will be built in a village after councillors gave proposals the go ahead.

The development at Petre Wood Farm, Whalley Road, Langho, will see the construction of 24 apartments and 21 two storey homes.

The company behind the plans are Salford-based Space New Living. This is part of the Great Places Housing Group which is responsible for 13,000 properties across the North West.

A housing corporation will be responsible for the homes and system of joint ownership will allow them to remain "affordable", especially for first time buyers.

However the company has not revealed how much "affordable" translates to in cash terms.

Latest figures suggest that the average house in the Ribble Valley is £197,057, 6.9 times the average wage in the borough of £28,716.

Langho borough councillor Stan Taylor said he was fully behind the scheme.

He said: "I think this sort of development is wanted in Langho and it will fulfil a need which has been there for some time. We need affordable housing in this area.

"We need to retain the young people in our smaller communities and I can't see anything wrong with this scheme at all.

"There were plans at one stage to turn it in to industrial units but that would be inappropriate for the gateway to the Ribble Valley. This is beneficial for everyone though."

The brown-field site was formerly the home of the Petre Wood Garden Centre that closed approximately four-years-ago. The plans were given the green light at the last meeting of Ribble Valley Council's planning and development committee.

The shared ownership will enable the buyer to purchase a minimum stake in the property of 25 per cent. This is done via the traditional mortgage route and the rest of home remains in the hands of a housing corporation.

The housing corporation then charges a rent to the owner who has the option to raise their own ownership in the property by buying extra 10 per cent stakes.

Space New Living claim this a more affordable option, especially for young first time buyers daunted by the prospect of a 100 per cent mortgage.

Langho parish council has thrown its support behind the scheme and was happy that any increase in traffic could accommodated along Whalley Road.

No timescale has been set for the start of the development and Space New Living intend to release more information later this year.