Ambitious plans to help young people get on the housing ladder have been called a ‘gamechanger’ as they were given council backing on Monday.

There was overwhelming support for ambitious plans to support young people in Ceredigion facing a “housing crisis” with council officers tasked with developing the details.

A special meeting of Ceredigion council’s corporate resources overview and scrutiny committee yesterday saw Ceredigion county councillors back a proposal from the Independent group to set up a new scheme to help young people get on the housing ladder.

Introducing the plan, Cllr Keith Evans said: “Everyone of us as councillors will be aware of the young people in our county who face great difficulties when they are trying to step on the property ladder.”

He added that there was a need for the council to be “innovative” by helping young people stay in communities because “they are the future of our communities and our schools.”

Monday’s committee was the first step in creating a pathway to home ownership, an independent group report states, with the main points to begin with focusing on community housing, eligibility, and how such a scheme would be financed.

One of the ideas is to increase housing with a shared equity scheme “in which potential purchasers get a mortgage for 50-70 per cent share of the home they need, with the council holding the remaining share, offering an opportunity for the owners to ‘stair case up’ to higher share ownership of the property over time as their circumstances change.”

This would help those that are above the affordable housing need – with the shortage of availability also recognised – but are still priced out of the market.

The plan outlines a cap on community housing prices of potentially £250,000 with eligibility requirements linked to borrowing ability and a link to Ceredigion including having been to school in the area and moving back or currently working and living in the county.

Finance options put forward include the council “bank rolls the scheme” from its revenue settlement grant, seeking match funding from Welsh Government and using money raised through the second and empty homes council tax premium.

Independent councillors, Keith Evans and Ifan Davies, lead members on the proposal, welcomed the decision and said it would be a “gamechanger” for future generations looking to buy their first home.

“We are delighted with the outcome and support received today, it demonstrates and highlights the strong sense of belonging and the importance of communities to Councillors in Ceredigion, the role of our young people in the future preservation of our language , schools, our culture and heritage by endeavouring to assist them to remain and build our communities of tomorrow”.

The committee highlighted the benefit to the Welsh language of helping young people stay in the area, with Cllr Lyndon Lloyd emphasising the need to look at the local development plan and policies while Cllr Gareth Davies said a focus on good employment opportunities was also needed.

Cllr Elizabeth Evans added her support to the proposal, adding “we always talk about housing but we don’t seem to be bringing anything forward.”

She also referred to successful UK schemes in the past which were similar and “one of the most proven models available.”

It was unanimously agreed to pass the proposal to officers to “work up the viability of the scheme” before it is brought back to scrutiny, and then cabinet and full council.