TWICE as many housing developments are to be allowed in the Ribble Valley in a bid to tackle the area’s sky-high property prices.

Council bosses said that the high demand for housing in the borough had an impact on the availability of affordable homes.

Most recent official figures available show that the price of houses in the Ribble Valley was continuing to rise.

No other East Lancashire borough saw increases, but the cost of the average Ribble Valley home rose by 17.1 per cent to an average of £265,381.

Ribble Valley council bosses are currently drawing up a plan for future development of the borough.

And their proposals for housing have been eased by an announcement last December from the Government.

For five years councils across East Lancashire believed there were restrictions on the number of new housing developments they could allow.

But last year it emerged that this was not the case and local authorities could permit as many developments as they wanted.

Ribble Valley Borough Council’s forward planning manager, Colin Hirst, said projections suggested the area’s population would continue to increase and they needed to cater for any rise.

He said: “Ribble Valley has experienced significant housing growth in the last 10 years, including major developments at the former Brockhall, Ribchester and Calderstones Hospital sites.

“The area continues to attract new residents, as a result of its attractive rural environment, high quality of life and good transport links to other parts of the North West.

“The high demand for housing has had a major impact on the availability of affordable housing and employment opportunities.

"The new regional plan for the North West has set an increased level of housing for the area that will effectively double the amount of development in Ribble Valley over the next 10 years.”