A lack of major housing developers has been blamed for the low number of homes sold through ‘Help to Buy’ in one part of Somerset.

Figures published by developer Barratt Homes shows that more than 3,400 home-buyers in Somerset have used Help to Buy since it was launched in 2013.

But only 25 homes in West Somerset were purchased using this scheme.

West Somerset Council said that the district’s rural nature made it hard to attract big-name developers, and said it was working to ensure more affordable and low-cost housing in the area.

Help to Buy was introduced by the government in April 2013 to give potential homeowners help towards getting on the property ladder.

There are three components to the scheme:

A help to buy ISA, where the government will top up savings by 25 per cent, up a maximum of £3,000 (i.e. when the account holder has £12,000 in savings)

An equity loan, where the government will lend you 20 per cent of the cost of a new-build home, leaving you to raise a five per cent cash deposit and to secure a 75 per cent mortgage

A shared ownership scheme, where applicants can buy between 25 and per cent of the value of the house and then pay rent on the rest

Andrea Pilgrim, sales director at Barratt Homes, said: “There’s no doubt that Help to Buy has proved extremely valuable for so many first time buyers, and we’re thrilled that we’ve been able to play our part with first time buyers now living at a number of our new developments in the Somerset area.”

According to the most recent figures, 3,411 people in Somerset have taken advantage of Help to Buy since its inception.

Taunton Deane saw the largest number of Help to Buy sales in this period, with 1,011 completed sales – just under 30 per cent of the Somerset total.

This was followed by North Somerset (843 sales), Sedgemoor (596), South Somerset (503) and Mendip (433).

West Somerset, however, was bottom of the pile, with only 25 completed Help to Buy sales – less than one per cent of the Somerset total.

West Somerset Council said that it was difficult to attract developers which were large enough to offer Help to Buy schemes.

A spokeswoman said: “We would, of course, wish to see a greater take-up of Help to Buy homes when they are available.

“One of the factors in the low take-up is West Somerset’s very rural character, with about 70 per cent of the geographical area being protected landscape – Exmoor National Park and the Quantock Hills included.

“National large house-builders do not develop land in West Somerset, and the

developers who have done sizeable schemes recently (such as Summerfield at Doniford Road in Watchet, and Strongvox at Dunster Marsh) have offered Help to Buy.”

The council added that it has assisted in delivering 38 discounted market homes, in which the price is restricted to a percentage of the open market value.

The spokeswoman added:  “We work hard to enable housing locally, and expect new developments to include 35 per cent of homes built to be affordable.

“We were successful in our joint bid with Taunton Deane Borough Council

and Sedgemoor District Council to the government’s Starter Homes Land Fund.

“Homes England (formerly the Homes and Communities Agency – HCA) will manage the fund. A site in Minehead was bought by the then-HCA and has planning consent for 71 homes; 25 of these – 35 per cent – will be affordable.”