A TOTAL of 75 affordable homes could be built in Cheddar after planners have given a provisional green light to five sites. Planning officers at Sedgemoor District Council have whittled the sites down from a list of 24. A working group of three parish cou

A TOTAL of 75 affordable homes could be built in Cheddar after planners have given a provisional green light to five sites.Planning officers at Sedgemoor District Council have whittled the sites down from a list of 24.A working group of three parish councillors and a planning officer from the council earmarked the sites that can hold a maximum of 20 homes.The group and district council will now approach the landowners to see if they can buy the land for development.District councillor and working group member Jeff Savage said: "It's wonderful news and far more homes than I anticipated as some of the sites we suggested were long shots as the council advised us to do that."I'm really pleased that those sites have gone forward and there is a chance for affordable homes to be built in the village."It now depends on whether the landowners want to sell their land and the planning process."Housing experts say Cheddar's average house prices are significantly higher than the district average of £175,000 and young people cannot afford to live there.There are currently 410 people who want to live in the village on the district council's housing waiting list.The authority has a target of 880 new affordable homes to be built across the district before 2011 and has identified a need for 83 new properties in Cheddar.Sedgemoor's strategic planning officer Duncan Harvey said: "Five of the sites have been looked at by our planners and agreed in principle for development."The rest were discarded because they were unsuitable or on areas of outstanding natural beauty."Affordable housing includes cheap properties, housing association homes and various rent-lease schemes.