East Lancashire parents ‘locked out’ of home ownership

Research by Shelter said couples with one child in Blackburn with Darwen would need an average of 7.8 years to afford to buy, while the same sized family in the rest of Lancashire would need 8.9 years.

The charity said successive governments’ policies had left millions of people ‘trapped in an unstable and expensive rental market’.

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For couples without a child, saving for a deposit in Blackburn with Darwen takes 3.3 years, compared with 4.3 years in Lancashire County Council-controlled areas, the research found.

Shelter’s chief executive, Campbell Robb, said: “Home ownership used to be within most people’s reach, but the rising shortage of affordable homes has pushed house prices up so high that for millions of young people it’s now just a fantasy, however how hard they work or save.

“Parents are right to be worried. The reality is that unless we get a grip on the housing shortage soon, children today could spend decades paying out dead money in expensive rents, or living at home well into adulthood with little hope of planning for their own families.”

The survey, carried out in conjunction with data analysts Liverpool Economics, found that single people in both Blackburn with Darwen and Lancashire needed 4.6 years to save for a deposit.

Shelter said the results proved that many couples had to make a ‘difficult choice’ between getting on the property ladder and starting a family.

Mr Robb said: “Successive governments have announced scheme after scheme promising to help first time buyers, but these have just papered over the cracks. The only way to make sure young people have a hope of a home of their own home is for politicians to roll up their sleeves and commit to building enough truly affordable homes.”

The average saving periods needed in the North West were 9.3 years for a couple with one child, 4.6 years for a couple without children, and 4.7 years for single people.