Work on affordable housing doubles in Warrington in a year

The rise comes despite the coronavirus pandemic bringing disruption to the construction industry.

Homes England data shows building started or was completed on 449 affordable homes in the town in 2020-21 – 227 more than the previous year.

The number of schemes was also much higher than 2017-18, when 212 affordable homes started being built or were delivered.

Homes England is sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to fund new affordable housing schemes.

Of the schemes progressing in the area in the year to March, 152 affordable homes were completed, including 67 affordable rentals, 17 social rentals and 68 affordable ownership homes.

Across England, 28,191 affordable homes were started in 2020-21 – 21 per cent fewer than the previous year.

The proportion of affordable homes completed also dropped by 15 per cent to 24,023.

Housing charity Shelter says with over a million households on the waiting list for a social home, any drop in affordable house building is a big problem.

Warrington bucks national trend as ‘affordable home’ building work rises despite Covid (Image: PA)

Polly Neate, the charity's chief executive, said: “If this slowdown continues because developers lose confidence, the dream of a safe and secure future gets even further out of reach for many.

“This just shows that we can’t only rely on private developers to build the housing we need – the Government needs to pull its weight and start building homes itself too.

“By investing in a new generation of social housing, it could provide families with genuinely affordable homes while also supporting the construction industry and boosting the economy.”

PricedOut, a campaign group for affordable house prices, says it wants to see the Government press ahead with the reforms proposed in last year's planning white paper to boost supply.

Affordable homes lead Reuben Young said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a huge drop in new housing supply, and because the supply of affordable homes closely tracks the supply of market homes, this has meant fewer affordable homes too.

“We need to make sure this is just a blip rather than a precedent.”

Peter Freeman, Homes England chairman, said he was confident the housing sector would recover thanks also to a new £12billion Government-backed scheme to develop affordable housing.

He added: “The statistics show that we have kept making homes happen, despite the huge impact of Covid-19 on the housing industry.

“We know there are still hurdles to overcome, but we are encouraged by recent data to suggest the sector is recovering well.”