Average house costs 11 times the average wage

That is the warning from the National Housing Federation, which found that the average house price in West Dorset last year was 11 times what people earnt on average in 2013.

The means annual earnings was recorded as £23,488 in West Dorset while the average price of houses in 2013 was reported as £267,941 – which is 11.4 times more than people earnt on average in 2013.

In addition, the average rental monthly price was £729 in West Dorset.

A Local Plan, which will highlight new housing requirements, is yet to be agreed between Weymouth and Portland Borough Council and West Dorset District Council.

Both councils agreed to suspend the examination of the Local Plan in March to address issues raised by the Planning Inspector.

One of the main changes is to increase the housing requirement to 775 homes per year and the plan period is being reduced to 2028.

The draft Local Plan sets out a long-term planning strategy to meet future housing, employment and leisure needs.

Jenny Allen, external affairs manager for the South West at the National Housing Federation, said: “Spiralling house prices and low, stagnant wages are changing the nature of many towns and villages in the south west as many young people and key workers are forced to move elsewhere to set up home.

“New affordable homes are vital for the stability of communities across the region.

“The housing crisis in the south west has been more than a generation in the making, so short-term initiatives aren’t going to fix it for this generation, or the next.

“We are calling for the next government to commit to ending the housing crisis within a generation by publishing a long-term plan for housing within a year of coming into power.”

The worst ratio between earnings and house prices in Dorset was in Purbeck.

The average house price was £273,586, while people’s mean earnings amounted to £20,961 per year minus 13.1 times lower than the mean house price.