A £13 million cash injection could help calm the affordable housing crisis sweeping across Worcestershire.

The Government's affordable homes agency, the Housing Corporation, has announced it will share the money between housing associations throughout the county, enabling them to build around 310 new affordable homes between 2008 and 2011.

With hundreds of families struggling to get onto the property ladder, the news is welcomed - but with caution.

Earlier this week, the National Housing Federation (NHF) warned that first time buyers face a bleak future as a mortgage for a typical Worcestershire house requires an income in excess of £54,000.

The current average income is less than £19,000.

Pat Brandum, chief executive of West Mercia Housing Group, which incorporates Worcester's Nexus Housing, said the investment showed the Government recognised the need for new affordable homes. "The grant will make a tremendous difference to the number of homes that can be built and the speed at which they can be completed, which is great news for local people looking for a home of their own," she said.

"With an allocation of this size, it's also good for the local economy. Wherever possible, we work in partnership with local companies to help boost local employment and create more jobs.

"We are now waiting to see the exact details of the funding and which plans we can take forward, though we are particularly pleased that a number of supported housing schemes for young people in Worcestershire will benefit from this grant allocation."

NHF research reveals that 13,733 Worcestershire households are on waiting lists for affordable homes, that some families will need to earn 14 times their annual salary to get a mortgage, and by 2012 the average West Midlands house price will be more than £237,000, compared to £168,500 at present. Gina King, head of the West Midlands region for NHF, said: "We welcome the recent government commitment.

"However, our concern remains that the region is still selling off more social homes than we build each year, and that only 18 per cent of local authorities have seen any increases in social housing in their area in the last five years."

In 2006, an independent report said Worcester needed 335 new affordable homes each year to satisfy demand.