As a new year dawns, people are already talking about how house prices will change and whether they should move or stay put.

Without a crystal ball, it is difficult to predict what the future will hold for house prices, especially in Wharfedale, Aireborough and Horsforth.

Mortgage lenders and estate agents all seem to have done their bit of fortune telling, but still opinions differ. Some believe there will be a slowdown, others believe the success of 2002 will continue.

But the people who seem to really be affected by the house prices are the younger ones who are trying to make their first clamber up on to the property ladder. To them, buying a house is not just about an investment, or being more comfortable and having more bedrooms.

It is about independence and a sense of being.

Young people also want to be able to live in desirable places like Otley, and there is no reason why they should not wish so. However, for the vast majority this is an impossible dream.

Even estate agents in our area have admitted that young people are being forced into the cities of Leeds and Bradford because they just can't afford the prices of more rural areas. This is somewhat serious, for as these young people join the exodus, what is it doing to the towns in which we live?

Surely towns and villages are at risk of becoming filled with the older, more affluent families and the elderly, with every prospect of a serious lack of a spread of age ranges.

Affordable accommodation which will benefit first-time (mainly younger) buyers is a must for Otley, otherwise the economy is bound to suffer.

It is an issue that is becoming more widely recognised and it is also seen as a difficult problem to solve. True, there does not seem to be an easy answer, but surely it is worthy of being tackled in a serious and committed manner.