TRYING to buy a house in Dorset has become "just ridiculous" for working people – according to a senior councillor.

Cllr Gill Taylor has told Dorset Council there is now a chronic shortage of genuinely affordable housing causing a wide range of problems, including for employment.

She said, in some cases, housing associations were becoming reluctant to take on 'affordable' homes in some developments.

"We need to work with partners, we can't solve this on our own," she told a meeting to discuss the Council's Plan for the coming years.

Cllr Taylor (Chickerell), the portfolio holder for health and housing, said the council would also need to improve its own buildings and try and ensure the county had good quality affordable homes.

"If people are in good housing they are likely to be in good health, people in poor housing are likely to be in poor health which just puts pressure on the rest of the system," she said.

Councillors have previously been told that affordable housing is one of the key reasons why people decide not to move to the county to take up jobs, with examples of newly qualified dentists, being given at previous meetings.

Cllr Taylor said the council would need to continue to focus on its strategies to prevent people becoming homeless, where it is already one of the best performing in the South West, and would continue to try and get more empty homes back into use.

She said the council would look at new ways of delivering new, affordable, homes and would be setting up a board, to meet in December for the first time, to explore ways of doing that.

Charminster councillor David Taylor told the meeting that with one of the oldest populations in the country Dorset needed to find ways of retaining young families.

"We seem to be losing our youth. As a council are we safeguarding keeping younger families in Dorset?" he said.

Cllr Taylor said one of the priorities the council had to get right – was being ready to apply for grants, when they became available, at short notice, but also needed to invest in the county's economy so that people wanted to stay here.

"What we want to get away from is people moving out of Dorset for University, or other reasons, and then not coming back," said Cllr Taylor.

Upwey and Broadwey councillor David Northam (Lib Dem) called for a greater role for community land trusts, working with registered providers, potentially using council-owned land to offer new affordable schemes.

Portland councillor Paul Kimber (Labour) made a similar plea for the council to work with housing co-operatives, highlingting a recent Bridport project.

Cllr Carole Jones (Con Sturminster Newton) told a meeting looking at the Council Plan, that the authority would need to continue to be helpful to those in private rented accommodation, by signposting where they could find help if there are problems.