Britain's prettiest villages becoming 'rich people's ghettoes' He pointed to official figures showing that in some desirable hamlets average house prices have reached 10.7 times the average income of less well-off people in recent years. Although the economic downturn has reduced the ratio in some areas to just over nine times income - it comes at a time when banks are less likely to lend money to borrowers, he said. The problem is most acute in the South West of England where the most recent figures show that house prices in rural areas are almost eight times what people earn. By contrast, in the neighbouring towns the ratio is just over six to one, figures provided for the commission show. Prof Shucksmith said that Britain's "one nation" traditions are at risk from the growing segregation in the countryside. "The danger is that our small rural communities are becoming rich people's ghettoes which exclude people on moderate and lower incomes who are important to the social sustainability of rural England," he said. They are becoming ghettoes of those at the top rather than the bottom. It is where a smaller segment of society separates itself off from the whole of society. There is no reason on Earth why people shouldn't move to attractive rural areas and I wouldn't discourage them from doing that - it's great for those areas and great for those people. What I would like would be great would be if more people could, not just those who have really made a lot of money. He said that unless more affordable housing is built in the countryside those who move into rural areas may find there is no one to teach their children or care for them in their old age. "It is quite natural when new housing is proposed to oppose it," he said. But if people were thinking in a more grown-up way about the future of their community and their own future they might think it is necessary to have more affordable housing. I think it is important for the country as a whole, if you have a split with the most well off people segregating themselves out from the rest of society we don't have one nation any more. One village where the housing market has had a drastic effect on the local community is the village of Chapel Stile in the Lake District. According to Mark Squires, the local headmaster, none of the parents of the 39 pupils at the village school or any of the teachers is able to afford to buy a home in the catchment area. He said the village's 200 or so residents are squeezed into only 20 per cent of the houses and it was not unusual for young adults to remain with their own parents even when they have children of their own. "It is almost like living in a film set," he said. It looks lovely and it is lovely but there are an awful lot of gaps in the local community. "William Summers, campaigns officer, for the National Housing Federation said: "Young families and lower income earners are being priced out of villages where they grew up and forced to move to cheaper, more urban areas. When they leave, the shops and services they support often disappear. To preserve the countryside for everyone to enjoy we need to make sure it's affordable for people who live and work there all year round, not just the wealthy. More affordable homes can make a real difference and give a village a whole new lease of life.