Key workers 'priced out' of towns

Research from Halifax indicated that the typical property in 70% of towns was now beyond the reach of five key worker groups - nurses, teachers, police officers, firefighters and paramedics.

The figure is up from 65% recorded last year and almost double the 36% of towns that were deemed to be unaffordable in March 2002.

Nurses and firefighters face the greatest hurdle when attempting to get onto the property ladder, research showed. The average house price in 99% of towns was unaffordable for the typical nurse in March 2007, while 97% of towns were beyond the finances of fire service employees.

By region, London and the South West proved to be the least affordable area for key workers. In all 32 London boroughs and 34 towns across the South West average key worker salaries would not be able to afford the typical house.

In the capital, the house price to earnings ratio for a nurse stands at 10.1, meaning the average property is valued at more than ten times their annual gross average earnings.

A location is deemed to be unaffordable if the ratio is above that of the the average UK first-time buyer's salary against the cost of their property - set at 4.46. Half of the 10 most affordable towns for public sector employees are in Scotland, research revealed.

Tim Crawford, group economist at Halifax, said: "Housing affordability continues to deteriorate for key workers across Great Britain and it is now clearly not a problem confined to the south of England. Nurses face the most difficulties climbing onto the housing ladder but all key worker occupations are likely to struggle to purchase a house apart from in Scotland."

Housing Minister Yvette Cooper said: "No Government has done more to help key workers; since 1997 almost 25,000 key workers have got their first step on the property ladder through Government shared equity and shared ownership schemes.

"This means people have stayed in crucial frontline jobs - six out of 10 key workers say our schemes have helped them continue in their chosen professions. 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."