More than 300 families are currently waiting to be homed in the town and the situation is reaching crisis point.

Scarborough Council released a list of the sites it wants to build on within the town this week to address the problem before it gets worse.

The sites are land off Byland Road, land off Larpool Lane, land off Helredale Road and land off St Peter's Road.

If they go-ahead, more than 300 homes, including other private developments, could sprout up in Whitby in the next three years.

The plans go before the council's cabinet on Tuesday and, if accepted, they will go to public consultation.

Two council depot sites at West Thorpe and Stakesby Road will also be sold for residential development with 40% of the homes on the land required to be affordable.

The council has acknowledged the loss of green space in Whitby is likely to cause major concern among residents and said it will consult with the public before any decision is made.

There are currently 312 households in Whitby who have an application on the council's housing register and are waiting to be re-homed.

Andy Skelton, the council's head of environmental services said: "There is a desperate need to provide new affordable homes in Whitby to meet the needs of local people.

"The council only has a limited supply of land through which it can do this.

"We want to work with the local community in order to seek their views about where and how new homes should be provided and how the remaining open spaces can be improved."

Land at California Terrace is not on the current list for development, but will be revisited when the new local plan is completed in 2011, and land in Love Lane, Mulgrave Road and Rievaulx Road could also be looked at again in the future.

Private developments in Chubb Hill, Highfield Road, White Leys Road and the NYCC depot are not included in the figures.