FAMILIES are being forced out of Southampton by vast new developments of small flats, warns a city property agent.

Blocks of flats such as Telegraph House and Oceana Boulevard can be money-spinners for developers but the apartments being built in huge quantities in Southampton had "transformed the landscape of the city" he said, attracting young people and shutting out families.

Echoing recent comments by Southampton Itchen MP John Denham, Chris Husson Martin of estate agent Knight Frank said developers had their priorities wrong and needed to focus on building communities and family homes.

Although a national trend, Southampton is one of the areas hardest hit and the problem looks set to increase as estimates put the number of new homes needed by Southamp-ton residents over the next 20 years at 16,300.

Mr Husson-Martin said: "There is a pattern emerging across the country with families being forced to live outside the city boundaries but Southampton is one of the worst affected regions with a strong supply of new one and two bedroom apartments at the expense of family houses.'' He believes it's not that families don't want to live in the city, developers just favour higher density properties which make more money than larger family houses with gardens.

Economics clear

"The economics are clear in that developers earn more money per square foot for apartments than for houses," he said.

"But with a constantly developing city centre in Southampton families do want to take advantage of the leisure facilities offered and the opportunity to cut commuting times to work. Southampton should be providing a range of accommodation to meet varied housing needs in the future - and that includes family housing."

Previously MP John Denham warned Southampton faced a grim future as "a city without families" if the rising tide of flat developments wasn't halted.

Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank, believes the push for change must come from policymakers.

He said: "The emphasis really needs to change from building homes to building communities but this has to be profitable for developers too and will help redress the balance and crucially bring families back into the city."