Priced out of the city

Measures are being taken to help them. But these workers are no longer in isolation, as more residents find it increasingly difficult to meet the cost of living in one of Britain's newest cities.

A quick scour through the job pages will show anyone hopeful of working in Brighton and Hove that the average wage is about £13,000 per year.

Further investigation into the property supplements will reveal an average person who dreams of raising a family in a terraced home in the city will have to earn £52,570 per year to be able to afford such a property - which now costs £183,994.

Prices have soared more than 21 per cent in the past year and the consensus is they will drop but only by a few per cent.

With a lack of low-cost and social housing and low wages for the ordinary person, there are realistic fears the city is set to become a haven for the rich and retired.

But if the people who work in "everyday" jobs are forced out, the high-fliers would be left living in a city without any services.

It may seem unlikely but the problem has already arisen in places such as the New Forest, Hampshire, Devon and Cornwall.

Some of these regions have been left without a range of trades, from tyre fitters, cleaners or heath care assistants, to classroom assistants and cooks.

As the young, future generations fled to more affordable regions, the ageing populations found themselves in isolated communities facing a bleak future.

Father-of-three Steve Fuller, 45, of Rowan Avenue, Hove, works for Marks & Spencer.

Although the company is recognised as a good employer, offering many staff incentives, he still finds it a struggle to bring up a family in the city.

Mr Fuller grew up in Hove but said he does not see how his children, aged 16, 15 and 13 will ever be able to afford to remain there should they want to start families.

He said: "It is a struggle. I don't drink or smoke and we never have holidays.

"I'm not extravagant. But it is hard. We could do with London weighting."

He added: "It's market forces. People from London come down here to retire and they have the money.

"It puts prices up and most of the wages here are low."

Steve Foster, branch officer for Brighton and Hove Unison, who is fighting for a "living wage", for public service staff, said: "People are being priced out of the city by low wages.

"If you are young, sick or elderly, then Brighton and Hove can't cater for you. This is a lovely place to live if you're rich."

Mr Foster said the effects of the ordinary worker being priced out were already beginning to take a toll on some public services.

Many residential homes have closed because they cannot employ staff on the wages they offer and staff cannot afford to take up the jobs.

Renaissance Care in Brighton could not pay high enough wages to attract staff.

The care service, which helped the elderly in their homes, was forced to close three months ago.

The company's owner Catherine Gennaro said at the time: "I can't get good staff. I could if I could pay them more but there isn't the sort of money in this business to do that."

Mr Foster said: "The average wage in the South-East is £26,000 but in Brighton and Hove a third of the workforce is on a low wage."

Some organisations, such as the NHS and police forces, are fighting their corner for their staff.

In places such as Brighton and Hove, some housing associations are working with public service employers to offer key workers the chance to buy homes.

But this does not help the rest of the city's employees, who, although not considered key workers, keep the city functioning.

Such workers are the staff of Brighton and Hove City Council, who held a rally outside the town hall last Wednesday.

They were discussing whether to accept an offer of a 7.7 per cent pay rise over two years.

But many council employees do not think it is enough.

Sandra Goodair, who works in the council's finance department, said: "I'm not happy with the offer. I hope we reject it."

But Ken Bodfish, leader of the council, said the authority could afford to increase the offer.

He said: "I am aware of the pressures employees face with the high cost of living and working in the city.

"The reality is we could only afford to pay staff higher wages than nationally agreed if we reduced the size of the workforce.

"Our first priority will always be the provision of top-rate services for the people of the city.

"Our employees are central to this but we have to be realistic about the resources we have to reward staff and, above all, to provide services."

The city council is in a Catch 22 situation: It does not have the resources to fund a larger pay award but was forced to hike council tax up by more than 11 per cent this year to fund service in the city, hitting the already stretched finances of the residents again.

The average council tax bill rose by almost £100 per person, while many people received a less than three per cent pay rise.

Mr Foster believes the answer to the city's problems lies with the Government. He believes Brighton and Hove should get extra funding in recognition of its problems.

Tomorrow, his union, Unison, with other major unions and the organisation Church Action On Poverty are holding a seminar in Brighton looking at the problems which have already begun to take effect because of the low wages.

Church Action said the average wage in Britain was £17,800 but there were 11 million people earning well below that.

A spokesman for the organisation said: "The gap seems to be growing as incomes of the poorer households have risen much more slowly."

Recently, Brighton and Hove was rated as one of the cities with the most companies in profit in the country, together with York.

But Mr Foster thinks that accolade is nothing to brag about, when it was achieved by companies paying staff low wages - while their employers' profits were booming.

He said: "Many of my friends who have grown up in the city can't afford to have children and are having to make tough choices about whether to have families or not.

"Some of them are choosing to move abroad."