KESWICK is one of 10 English market towns with the country’s most expensive housing in comparison to their county’s average.

The survey, by Lloyds Bank, reveals the current average house price in Keswick is £299,791 – a staggering 77 per cent above the Cumbrian average of £169,691.

The figures came as no surprise to two of the councillors who represent the town on Allerdale Council.

Independent councillor Martin Pugmire, who has lived in the town for 10 years, said: “A lot of people like the idea of retiring to Keswick so they sell up and bring their proceeds with them.

“Locals can’t compete. It’s a major problem for local people, a lot of who have to commute into Keswick to work. “The problem is an acute one, but there’s no easy solution. There is, of course, the issue of people buying second homes here; and if you buy a house in Keswick to rent out then you will get your money. “But second homes are more of a problem.

“Perhaps in areas like this where there’s a problem more should be done to discourage second home ownership. We do have some homes with a local occupancy clause but I’m not sure how well that is policed by the National Park. “The whole issue is a problem, and Cockermouth is going the same way.

”

Fellow councillor Ron Munby, who is a Conservative, said: “ There’s nothing new in this, although the figures are new. Go back 30 years and the story will have been the same.

“The reason is, of course, that every person who comes to visit Keswick thinks quite naturally that they’d like to live there and that pushes up the house prices. It’s supply and demand. “It’s a shame, in a way, because it’s a desirable area in which to live.

”

The market town with the biggest gulf in local prices was Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire , where the average house was £997,222, compared to a county average of £345,043. That represents a difference of a whopping 189 per cent .Next came Bakewell, Derbyshire, with a figure of £351,092, compared to the average of £175,327

.

Keswick came fifth on the list of the ten market towns with the most inflated average price in their county . The most expensive three market towns in England for housing, according to the survey, were: Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, South East, where the average was £997,222;followed by Lewes, Sussex, with £408,641, and Midhurst, Sussex, South East, with a figure of £403,893.