Getting that first foothold on the property ladder is proving virtually impossible for a growing number of people. Although the relentless rise in house prices seems to be stalling, they have climbed to a level which puts them beyond the reach of many would-be first-time buyers.

The problem is particularly acute in a town like Ilkley, which in a report this weekend was named as the seventh most expensive town in the country in which to buy a starter home.

So there is bound to be a general welcome for today's announcement by Accent (formerly the Bradford & Northern Housing Association) of their plans for affordable new homes in Bradford and the Aire Valley.

The plan is an interesting one: to build timber-based homes which are quick and inexpensive to construct and allow tenants to part-buy, part-rent them until they can eventually afford to buy them outright.

The big concern for many people, of course, will be that this drive to provide cheap homes could lead to even more green fields being lost in a district which has seen relentless incursions into its remaining countryside.

Accent is making reassuring noises about this. The homes, its marketing manager says, will be mainly on brownfield sites in Bradford and former industrial areas along the Aire Valley.

It will be up to the planners now to ensure that they are forced to keep to that promise and that the houses themselves are of sufficient quality to allay fears over their safety and durability.