First-time buyers can get six months of their mortgage paid at this Lancashire development

As well as the Help to Buy scheme and discounts for NHS workers, Prospect Homes is offering six months’ mortgage paid – up to the value of £5,000 – on selected plots at its The Ridings development in Longridge.

The Help to Buy scheme has changed and is now restricted purely to first-time buyers with a regional price cap – set at £224,400 in the North-West – and Prospect says it has a “number of homes available under the regional price cap” at The Ridings, on Whittingham Road.

Sam Williams, Prospect Homes head of sales, said: “Getting onto the property ladder is a dream for many so actually owning your own home is a huge achievement. I’m really pleased we have lots of choice for first-time buyers at The Ridings.

“Owning a home rather than renting mean that all monthly repayments go towards your home, not to a landlord. Plus with new builds, the home is a blank canvas and can be decorated to your own taste – without needing to ask permission.”

Under the new Help to Buy scheme, homes can be secured with a little as a five per cent deposit, with the Government offering equity loans of up to 20 per cent of the purchase price, so first-time buyers only have to secure a mortgage for the remaining 75 per cent.

Properties at The Ridings include the three-bedroom Medlock, priced at £210,000, as well as the Rutland, a three-bedroom, mid-mews style property.