Winchester City Council is to spend a further £110,000 developing land for affordable housing.

It has already spent £75,000 on a consultation exercise in Stanmore and Highcliffe. Members hope to identify suitable council land and make it available for affordable homes.

Council leader, Sheila Campbell, said: "We hope to improve the environment for residents and find space for vital affordable homes."

Cabinet members hope the £185,000 cost of the "community planning exercise" will be recouped by payments from developers.

Consultation with Highcliffe and Stanmore residents had led to several sites being identified. Officers have also compiled data on which areas residents would not welcome new housing.

The £110,000 will fund provisional building plans for each site. The work will run until January, when the council will hold a public presentation. A council report stated that, in the "short term", there was sufficient land to build over 100 houses.

As of 2004, councils like Winchester could be stopped from spending their own capital receipts, raised by council house sales. Instead the money will go to Westminster, then channelled into deprived areas. Said Mrs Campbell: "This puts huge pressure on us to bring forward the development of sites for affordable housing."

The council will benefit from separate government plans to raise the council tax rate on holiday homes in England, rising from 50% to 90% of the standard rate. There are 274 "second homes" in the district.

Executive member for housing, Dominic Hiscock, feels the council tax reforms are an insult. "It's a sick joke. We get the crumbs from the people who can afford a second home and the Government expects us to turn it into affordable housing after taking away our capital receipts."