THE Millionaire's Row label has reinforced the gulf between the rich and the poor in Dartmouth – and the need to battle for more vitally needed affordable homes.

Townstal town councillor Steve Smith warned that more and more youngsters are being driven out of their town because they can no longer afford to live in Dartmouth.

He is calling for at least 30 per cent of the 400 new homes due to be built on the western edge of the town to be affordable – through shared ownership.

And he is urging residents to support him by turning up at public consultation events over the next two months to make their feelings clear.

He said: 'I fear that we will lose youngsters from this town simply because they cannot afford to stay here any more and the employment prospects seem to be bleak.'

And he added: 'West Dartmouth development is the life changing future of this parish and I urge as many residents to attend the next two open public consultation events at Townstal Community Hall on Tuesday, January 17, 2-8pm, and the final public exhibition on Tuesday, March 20, from 2-8pm, also in the community hall.'

As we reported in last week, a Lloyds TSB survey has just put Dartmouth in the top 20 most expensive places in the South West to live.

The town boasts three separate property hotspots in a survey of the most sought after streets in the country.

Warfleet came in at number 11, Castle Road at number 13 and Sandquay Road at number 20 – all commanding average prices of around £1m.

While that may be good news for the wealthy, Mr Smith said 'people are struggling' at the other end and pointed out that it is a 'reality that there is such a gulf' in the town. He added: 'The estate agent stated that the house prices were high because Dartmouth is a beautiful place to live. It's a crying shame that if you are on a low income and struggling you will be denied the opportunity to share the same panoramic delights.'