A PIONEERING scheme to help families buy affordable homes in their own villages is to begin in south Shropshire.

The district council has granted planning permission to three young families to build new homes in rural areas where they have strong local connections. This will avoid them having to compete with wealthy incomers who have forced house prices up all over the county.

One of the first to benefit from the scheme is Sarah Lewis, who plans to return with her husband Michael and their two children to her home village of Longville, east of Church Stretton.

"I was brought up in Longville and I have three brothers there but now we are in a starter home in Shrewsbury. We wanted to buy in Longville but we've not been able to afford it. We've been waiting for two years and this scheme is what we needed," she said.

"We'll make it work. It's where we want to be. We have two children. John is four and Abbey two. So this will help us think about a good school for them in the area."

The council has also approved homes in Pennerley and Wentnor, two remote villages in the south west of Shropshire, close to the Welsh border. It is one of the first local authorities in Britain to implement the new flagship scheme.

The total value of each home is intended to be around £65,000. To ensure they stay affordable, the council will hold a one per cent stake so it can keep an eye on future sales. It will be up to the owners to build the property and arrange any mortgage.

"This not a springboard. The idea is that people will stay in their community with their families for the foreseeable future," said the council's head of environment and community services Steve Price.

"The value will go up with the housing market, so home owners will be able to profit from any increase. But we would like people to stay in the vicinity and help sustain small rural villages."

His department is looking at another 30 applications to put up similar homes under the scheme.

Duncan Bennett and his wife Clare are another couple who welcomed the scheme.

"It's very good news. We can't afford to buy a house in Pennerley but this gives us the opportunity," Duncan explained. "We hope to be in by next autumn and then start a family."