CHANGES may need to be made for future housing provision in Dorset because of the pandemic.

Town councillors in Dorset say there is likely to be a move away from the trend towards flats and properties without gardens – to cater for those who will now have to work from home.

But the difficulty will be how to achieve this while still producing enough homes which are affordable – especially at a time when many are expected to lose their jobs.

Several councillor said there would also have to be a recognition that more rented properties might be needed.

Cllr Molly Rennie said Covid ought to produce a change in thinking about housing provision into the future: “Covid has changed things: We know that a lot of people are not going to be able to return to full time work…but young people now are having to work from home in a studio-type flat without the space, or a young family having to live somewhere without gardens…we welcome the affordable homes that we have had but maybe we need to recognise that with the change in circumstances we may need to be looking for a different style, or type, of property for people,” she told the town council planning committee.

“It’s fine if you can afford a three-bedroom and you only need one but we have got to think about people who need to rent on low incomes. Everything will change.”

Cllr Gareth Jones said affordability needed to be considered – with places like West Dorset and Purbeck almost equally as un-affordable as places like Knightsbridge in London.

“We need to reflect that we have got south west wages and south east house prices,” he said, calling for the difference between local wages and house prices to be reflected in a housing policy document currently being prepared by Dorset Council.