An average of about 533 homes must be built every year in Brighton and Hove until 2026, according to council leader Ken Bodfish.

The target has been proposed to the council and will eventually form part of the South-East Plan, a blueprint to manage the growth and development of the region.

After an interrogation into my personal circumstances, Councillor Bodfish cites me as a perfect example of why we need so many new homes.

He said: "You are the sole wage earner in a family of four on a below-average income and you cannot afford to live in Brighton and Hove. You live outside the city and travel in by car every day.

"Sadly that is very typical in this city and it is down to a chronic shortage in all types of accommodation, particularly family homes."

While high property prices and rents are signs of the prosperity and popularity of Brighton and Hove, Coun Bodfish says they are a dangerous trend.

He said: "The only people who can afford to buy are those on very high incomes. People born and brought up in the city are having to move out to places like Worthing, Shoreham and Newhaven.

"They can't contemplate renting a home, let alone buying. We are talking about people vital to society - teachers, nurses, bus drivers, police officers and shopworkers who are being driven away."

Coun Bodfish is confident the ambitious target can be achieved, stressing it is only a continuation of the city's present rate of growth.

In the next ten years some of the biggest housing developments ever planned in the city are on the cards.

The vast skyscraper development proposed for Brighton Marina alone will provide 1,000 flats if planning permission is granted in its current state.

The mixed-use King Alfred project will account for another 750 homes. About 400 homes are planned at Preston Barracks and the redevelopment of the Ocean Hotel at Saltdean will account for a further 280 houses.

Building around the new library in North Road, near Brighton station, at Westergate House, Black Rock, and Circus Street is likely to provide more.

It is not yet known where about 1,000 of the new homes will be built but the council is confident, based on past experience, land will become available. The council has calculated its target partly by analysing sites identified for housing in the city's Local Plan and past trends of housing development.

It has already acknowledged the lack of space for development with the introduction of its tall buildings policy, which has earmarked several sites as suitable for sky-high structures.

Almost 8,000 new homes were built in Brighton and Hove between 1991 and 2003.

The council anticipates many of the required homes will be provided by so-called "windfall" development - smaller-scale planning applications for individual houses and blocks of flats.

The council requires that 40 per cent of new accommodation built must be affordable. That means either rented social housing or shared ownership schemes.

Coun Bodfish said: "The major developments may not necessarily be providing family homes but these will free up family homes currently being occupied by people who will live in flats.

"It will not be easy but we are not going to set a target if we are not confident we can reach it."

Conservative councillor and housing spokeswoman Mary Mears said building new homes would not necessarily help people in Brighton and Hove get on the property ladder because they might be snapped up by people from outside the city.

She said: "My main concern is if we are building all these houses on the south coast, the infrastructure needs to be there.

"We have got a shortage of school places and a water shortage. Building extra houses is not necessarily going to help people in Brighton and Hove buy a home."

Coun Bodfish said new homes were just one part of the strategy for growth in the city. He said: "Of course we will need more schools, doctors and services and that is all part of our reckoning. Transport is a major issue and that is why we are working so hard on the Rapid Transport System, a major factor of which is park-and-ride."

The desperate lack of affordable housing in Brighton is reflected throughout the South-East and has led to a widening gap between rich and poor.

In July the South East England Regional Assembly (Seera) set a draft target of 28,900 new homes every year for the next two decades across the region.

The Green Party is concerned water supplies could run dry if rapid house building continues.

A spokeswoman for Seera said the proposed figures for new homes were to undergo further public consultation but they were set after having feedback from utility companies and the Environment Agency stating they could cope.

Business leaders say the Seera target is "woefully inadequate," Sussex Enterprise and the CBI say the figure is not enough to meet demand for affordable homes in the region and the economy will suffer.

Chief executive of Sussex Enterprise Mark Froud said: "Our research also shows the high cost of housing in Sussex may have prevented between 3,300 and 6,100 jobs being created last year, costing the Sussex economy between £100 million and £180 million."

Mr Froud said housing was only one obstacle for businesses.

He said: "If the Government wants three per cent economic growth a year across the South-East it will need to invest in road and rail links, air transport and skills as well as housing."

The next round of consultation will determine how the 28,900 homes will be divided between individual local authorities.

The final draft housing figure for Brighton and Hove will be decided by the council's policy and resources committee in December.