Most towns ''too pricey'' for public sector workers

Key workers have been priced out of seven in ten UK towns, according to a new report.

Public sector employees, such as teachers, nurses and police, have been priced out of most towns and local authorities with affordability declining exponentially in recent years.

Yvette Cooper, the housing minister, said it is not all bad though as 25,000 key workers have bought property since 1997 using government schemes such as the shared ownership or shared equity initiative.

"But to tackle affordability in the long run we need to build more homes across the board - and unfortunately there is still strong opposition to increasing housing in many areas," she added.

There are even 20 towns where homes cost over ten times the salary of key workers and five of these towns are in Surrey. More affordable areas include Fife, Merthyr Tydfil, Mexborough and Peterlee.


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