A YORK-based property firm is heading a major expansion in the region.

Persimmon, the UK's second largest housebuilder, has acquired land with a development value of more than £8 million and announced plans to double its number of apprenticeships.

The Fulford-based company has bought sites in two new areas at York and Brayton to develop a total of 42 new homes.

The sites on Strensall Road, Old Earswick, and Bassam Lane, Brayton will be developed with three and four-bedroom homes in a mixture of town houses, semi-detached and detached properties.

A number of the homes will be built on a brownfield site, in line with government policy to use previously developed land and protecting green belt areas, helping redundant sites become thriving new communities.

Persimmon regional managing director Ian Hessay said: "There is a shortage of new homes in the Yorkshire region and, in addition to providing local people with property that they can afford to buy, new housing is essential to the economy of Brayton and York.

"Persimmon builds a wide variety of new homes to suit a range of budgets and lifestyles and these acquisitions will ensure that we can continue to do so over the coming years."

To continue development the firm is this year increasing its number of apprenticeships from 200 to 400, with numbers of graduate placements also rising over the coming years.

The move represents an attempt to tackle the current skills shortage in the UK construction industry.

The firm has already been attempting to create more interest with a careers manual, poster campaign and apprentice awards scheme.

Persimmon group chief executive John White said: "Attracting people into the industry is only half the battle. We've been speaking to careers advisors across the UK who regularly find themselves struggling to convert that initial interest into a career path, often because of insufficient work experience and job placements.

"We hope that extra apprentice opportunities and graduate placements at Persimmon Homes will go some way to addressing this shortfall of opportunities. With the industry crying out for fresh talent we shall very much look forward to tracking the progress of our new colleagues."

Updated: 08:44 Wednesday, March 26, 2003