COUNCILLORS are set to back a scheme designed to make sure ex-council houses are only sold on to local people from the Ribble Valley.

Members of the housing committee of Ribble Valley Council will meet on Thursday to discuss the proposed new restrictions.

Council leader Coun Peter Redpath has backed the scheme and his colleagues in the ruling Conservative group are expected to back him.

Issues highlighted in the Rural White Paper included the fact that new generations of families from rural communities were being forced to move to towns and cities because house prices in their villages had rocketed, thanks to a surge of people moving from outside the area or snapping up second holiday homes.

In a bid to make sure that some housing is left for local people, Ribble Valley Council plans to add a clause to the sale of its 1,394 council houses in the future, banning them from being sold on to someone who isn't local -- a person who doesn't live or work in the area.

A typical three-bedroomed, semi-detached house in the area now costs at least £115,000.

A spokesman for the council said: "Only council properties in certain areas are affected.

"Barrow, Wiswell, Chatburn, Dinckley, Hothersall, Read, Ribchester, Rimington and Middop and West Bradford all meet the Government's criteria for this scheme.

"They have a population density of two people or less per hectare and more than three per cent of their housing stock is now used as second homes.

"Towns or parishes with a population of more than 2,000 are excluded."

He added: "Ribble Valley is unique in many ways because we are surrounded by industrial towns with people from all over wanting to come and live here which has forced prices up."

The council also insists new housing developments include affordable housing for local people.

Permission for Ribble Valley to be included in the scheme was submitted on July 12 to the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions. "We are awaiting the response of the government and have asked for the committee's backing also," the spokesman added.