COMMUTERS could be encouraged to set up home in France under a daring plan to boost Channel Tunnel business and ease Kent’s housing crisis.

Eurotunnel, backed by Kent County Council, insisted it was not a “pipe dream” to envisage at least 10,000 British people settling in under-populated Northern France, a cheap land paradise, and commuting daily to Kent and London.

When the Channel Tunnel Rail Link is completed in 2007, commuters will enjoy a 75-minute journey time between Calais and London.

Eurotunnel, a big landowner in Nord-Pas de Calais, has already held discussions with French officials about developing its sites for housing, shops, conference centre, wind farm and other purposes.

The proposal marks a shift in strategy as the Channel Tunnel operator takes a wider interest in developing the Euroregion and at the same time boosting use of its “under-utilised” asset.

Chief executive Richard Shirrefs told Kent Online that the Channel had been successfully bridged physically. But substantial “non-physical” barriers remained. He wanted to see a huge shift in attitude that removed cultural, social and other barriers.

One way was to encourage more British people to live in Northern France and use the tunnel to commute to London and Kent.

“You can imagine getting up in Calais and being in Central London and working faster than if you were living in Birmingham,” he said.

“Many people commute further than this within England and go to places that are many times as expensive as the villages around Calais.”

It was important, he said, for “real people living in real houses and having real jobs” to move to France. This scheme was not about second homes or retirement homes. Fares would have to be realistic.

“There will need to be decent transport services at prices which people can afford every day, otherwise clearly it can’t happen.”

Mr Shirrefs added: “This is not a pipe dream but something that can be attractive. Whether we will get enough people, whether there will be the political consensus remains to be seen but it is fundamentally a decent idea and deserves to be pursued.”

Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, leader of Kent County Council, welcomed the plan, saying it would take some of the pressure off Kent. He would be speaking to his French counterparts about the ideas, he said.

Sir Sandy recently called for a reduction in fares between Kent and France to encourage more people to travel.

“To build the links between Kent, Nord-Pas de Calais and the Euroregion, we have to make crossing the Channel easier and cheaper for ordinary citizens and businesses,” he said in Lille.

“It is very easy and cheap to cross from France to Belgium but it is not so easy to cross the Channel.

“Therefore, it is a great challenge for Eurotunnel, Eurostar and for the shipping industry to really take that up. If we are to make a difference, we must make it an everyday event to cross the Channel.”