A call of "action not words" has heralded a major new inquiry which will thrust the Westcountry's affordable homes crisis into the spotlight.

Campaign group Housing Voice is to gather evidence and "innovative ideas" from the entire sector, including people trapped in poor quality housing or priced out of the housing market.

However, while welcoming further pressure on the Government, some groups have said the time for talking is over and the time has come to act.

Lord Whitty, the chairman of Housing Group, told the Western Morning News that it would not be a talking shop.

"We already know areas like the South West are suffering from an affordable housing crisis," he said. "We do not need to do a lot more research, but what we do need is a lot of new ideas or even old ideas on how to solve this problem that can be given new legs."

Housing Voice, a group which draws together organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau and Unison, will hold its first session at Exeter University on December 9. Inquiries will then be staged across the country.

Lord Whitty said it particularly wanted people at the centre of affordable housing issues themselves to contribute.

"We are giving people who are living in the private rented sector, or who have poor quality housing or who are on the waiting list for social housing the chance to have their say."

According to national estimates, the gap between the number of homes required and the number being built is projected to be 750,000 by 2025.

In the Westcountry the chasm is wider still, exacerbated by sky high house prices and low incomes. The average price of a home in the South West is just under £229,000, 12 times the average income.

Worsening the problem further is long waiting lists for social housing. In Plymouth, 9,153 are on the waiting list, in Torbay it is 2,482 and in Cornwall, 7,715.

Lord Whitty said: "New home delivery is well short of this region's growth in new households, and with high concentrations of second homes, it is no surprise that the South West has one of the country's biggest waiting lists for social, affordable housing."

Lord Taylor, the former Lib Dem MP for Truro and St Austell who is now chairman of the National Housing Federation, said the inquiry was important because "reports do lead to action.

He said: "It's extremely welcome to be hearing from people at the sharp end. I'm also delighted that Housing Voice is launching in a part of the country that has particular problems with low rural wages, yet is an area that attracts people to come and live in, with the result of higher house prices."

The Countryside Alliance, which has long campaigned on the issue of affordable, rural housing, said now is the time for action.

"In the last decade, people moving out of cities and into the countryside has driven up the rural population by 800,000 people," said a spokeswoman.

"This has in turn driven up house prices, particularly in the South West, and is now pricing young families out of the communities in which they work and in which they have often been brought up.

"For this reason it is more important than ever that rural areas are provided with affordable housing and rural businesses allowed to grow."

The opening inquiry will be addressed by Stephen Gilbert, the Liberal Democrat MP who is also chairman of an All Party Parliamentary Housing Group.

A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government said it had released billions of pounds as part of its affordable housing programme.

Log on to www.housing voice.co.uk to contribute.