COUNCILS in East Lancashire hoping to solve the affordable housing crisis are to approach a developer which is offering to build homes for just £55,000.

Blackburn with Darwen and Ribble Valley are both seeking talks with Merseyside-based homebuilder Redrow Homes, which last week announced it had devised the new-style properties.

Now local property experts are calling on East Lancashire-based firms to cash in on the need for low-cost housing in the area before all the work gets taken on 'by the big boys'.

Redrow has been given planning permission to develop its 'Debut' range at a site in the West Midlands.

And it has confirmed it will seek planning permission for a second scheme at Buckshaw Village, a large-scale development being created on the former ROF site between Euxton and Chorley.

The Redrow Debut homes, which cost £55,000 for a one-bedroom flat, are of steel construction and take three weeks to create.

A spokesman for Redrow confirmed they were looking for new sites

Blackburn with Darwen Council confirmed it is to approach Redrow and other developers.

The council wants to create affordable housing within the areas it is currently spending millions on through the Elevate regeneration scheme.

Coun Mohammed Khan, in charge of housing at the council, said: "Giving first time buyers a chance to get on the property ladder is very important to us.

"We need to develop property people want to buy and which is considered decent."

Despite the fact that Blackburn with Darwen's house prices are among the lowest in the country, they have still risen 62per cent since 2002 - compared to an average pay rise of around eight per cent.

For the first time, the cost of a new home is set to exceed what average wage-earners in Blackburn with Darwen can afford with a standard mortgage, based on three and a half times their salary.

In Ribble Valley, the average house price topped £200,000 last year - and a ban has been placed on any new homes being built unless they are 'affordable'.

Last year, 600 people applied to live in just a handful of council-owned houses.

A spokesman said: "Part of our plan is to work with developers to create affordable housing.

We do have sites available, and it is an issue we take very seriously.

Chartered surveyor John Atherton, based in Whalley, said: "It has taken councils like Ribble Valley a long time to get interest from bigger firms, but there is nothing stopping local firms getting involved.

"There is money to be made. It would be a shame if local firms missed out."