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Young people want to build own homes Socially excluded young people want the opportunity to build their own homes so affordable housing can be combined with skills development.

That was the key message from a report last week from Centrepoint, based on interviews with 550 young people from former mining areas in Durham.

Neil Bellerby, Centrepoint's North of England manager, said existing so-called affordable housing was "well out of the reach of socially excluded young people".

But allowing them to help build or renovate their homes could help them on to the property ladder and forge a career in construction.

Bellerby said the charity was working with a number of councils and other agencies to set up schemes similar to this.

Firm Foundations is available from www.centrepoint.org.uk