FIERCE debate took place over future housing plans for Marlborough as a young couple spoke of their frustration at the lack of affordable housing in the town.

The results of an independent consultation into housing needs were discussed at the town hall on Tuesday night, and provoked an intense discussion on how to stop more retirement villages from taking over the area.

The survey interviewed nearly 1,000 households and concluded that 107 social houses and 68 shared equity homes need to be built in the next five years to meet demand.

The Marlborough Area Neighbourhood Plan steering committee confirmed 70 homes will be included in the Salisbury Road development and 105 more are proposed on approved brown and green field sites. A town referendum will need to approve the Neighbourhood Plan before these extra homes could be built.

Emily Harris, 24 and Callum Brady, 23 currently live with Miss Harris’s parents in Elcot Lane and despite working full-time, cannot afford to buy their own home.

Miss Harris said: “If it is okay to build homes only for people over 50, why is it not okay to build houses only for people younger than 30?

“It is the people cooking meals for your children at school and running the shops, people like me and my partner who cannot afford to live here because our salaries are so low.

“At what point did it become impossible for a couple who grew up in the area to buy a house here despite working full time jobs and with a university degree? 20 years ago we’d have been laughing.”

House prices in Marlborough are 1.3 times more expensive than the UK norm, with average rents costing £829 a month. The average house price in Marlborough had risen £80,000 in six years from £300,000 to £380,000.

Households needed to earn £47,000 to get onto the property ladder, around twice the wage of lower earners hoping to buy their first home.

Retirement complexes, charging up to £600,000 for a two-bedroom property, were actively opposed and residents were urged to use the findings to try to block further retirement complex development.

Danny Friedman, of Cobweb Consulting, said: “If Wiltshire Council’s planning policy is weak then this gives you a good lobby when your planning review is revised. You can use it as ammunition and say they’ve got it wrong, there is no demand for this type of housing.”

Cllr Lisa Farrell highlighted the pressure on other services in the town, such as schools and GPs, which she felt was not helped by building more retirement homes without investment in local services.