MUCH has been written about the soaring cost of housing in York and the shortage of homes ordinary people can afford.

Builders resent attempts to force them to include include 'affordable' properties. So radical solutions are needed if a generation of young people aren't to give up on the dream of owning a home.

Solutions don't come much more radical than that being suggested by YorSpace, a group that aims to find ways of providing environmentally sustainable houses. They have teamed up with local people in Bishophill to try to raise £1million from small investors.

They would use the money to buy Oliver House, the empty former council care home, and convert it into 11 affordable homes.

People living there would buy shares in the development, then sell them back when they moved out. Investors, meanwhile, would get a return comparable to ISAs.

It's a fascinating idea. If you'd like to find out more, there will be a public meeting in the Priory Street Centre on Sunday. But YorSpace will need to move quickly. The council has invited bids for the building by the end of the month, so the pressure is on.