SOUTH Lakeland and Eden are two of the areas that will become countryside ‘pensioner pockets’ in less than a decade, housing bosses have warned.

The National Housing Federation (NHF) has included the districts in a new list of rural areas where a ‘dire lack of affordable homes’ is pricing out young people and families.

Figures published by the organisation have shown that the number of pensioners is set to soar across England’s rural communities by 2021, as younger generations who aspire to ‘grow up and grow old’ in rural villages and towns are unable get a foot on the local property ladder.

The NHF has released a list of the country’s top ‘pensioner pockets’ where more than 40 per cent of households will contain people aged over 65 in just six years’ time, considerably higher than the predicated national average of 29 per cent.

Out of these 27 ageing districts of England, just two are urban, setting alarm bells ringing that the idea of a living, working countryside is at risk of disappearing.

According to the analysis, 42.7 per cent of South Lakeland’s population will be over 65 in 2021 – a 4.5 per cent increase from 2011.

In Eden the figure will be 40.1 per cent, up by 4.4 per cent in the same period.

Craven also makes the list, where 41.7 per cent of households will have an over-65 by 2021.

Population projections from the Cumbria Observatory have forecasted that by 2037, 37.2 per cent of residents will be aged 65+ - the ninth greatest proportion of out of all authorities in England.

Jane Potts, Rural Housing Enabler at Cumbria Rural Housing Trust, said the trend of ‘pensioner pockets’ was ‘already happening’.

“It’s true that many younger people can’t afford to live and work in the countryside,” she said.

“But because it’s a free market I don’t really see what can be done about it, other than continuing to push for affordable housing in new developments.”

John Mansergh, Assistant Director at South Lakes Housing, said: “The prospect of buying a home where you grew up is a pipe dream for many young people in our area.

“SLDC has set some really ambitious targets but they are not being helped by decisions like the recent extension of the Right to Buy policy to housing associations where few people stand to gain from the tax payer funded benefit.

“We would urge the government to devolve further decision making on housing to local councils.”

John Clasper (MCIH) Managing Director at Eden Housing Association, said the organisation was ‘keeping an eye on’ the issue.

“We’re still seeing a strong demand for rural affordable housing, but the cost of living rurally is disproportionately expensive.

“Quite a lot of properties in Eden are on gas, so the cost of utilities is higher, and cuts to rural public transport mean people are having to run cars, which is getting more expensive.”