Moves to save historic Aldingbourne home

Sites in the county believed to be under consideration for some of the properties include surplus NHS land at the former Graylingwell Hospital, Chichester, where large areas are scheduled for redevelopment.

But a new cabinet report issued from County Hall, Chichester, said it might be impossible to deliver high quality homes at this price.

Traditional construction and labour costs had increased since the competition to create the properties was announced by deputy prime minister John Prescott in April, 2005.

And further costs implicit in achieving high standards of energy efficiency would increase the difficulty of bringing such homes forward unless modern methods of construction could counter this.

"That being said, the Regional Housing Board's expectation that low cost, innovative homes are built would be welcomed where this is deliverable," the report added.

In the interest of providing housing quicker, at a lower cost, and with low ongoing maintenance costs, the board could express a preference for 'passive home' eco principles, integrated with modern construction methods.

'Passive homes' meant only using high insulation and window standards.

The scheme could see registered social landlords buy affordable housing with free service land at the 60,000 figure - or the lowest cost viable.

The landlords would retain the free land value, offering accommodation to cover the 60,000 cost.

The tenant/equity holder would then have the option to buy up the land-value incrementally, thus providing cash for more affordable housing.

The cabinet report also urged the regional housing board to look for 'innovative solutions' to address the issue of affordability. It pointed out that it was often people without an income that obtained social rented housing, and those just short of being able to buy independently that could access shared ownership and key worker housing.

"There is an ever-growing swathe of people in the middle that cannot access any solution," it warned.