Government says affordable housing delivery is up by 63%

Figures mean Affordable Homes Programme targets were exceeded.

New figures released today by the Government has shown a 63% increase in the delivery of affordable homes in the last year.

The new data, which shows that almost 60,000 homes were delivered in the last year, means that the Government has exceeded its original targets set out in the Affordable Homes Programme 2011-2015.

Since April 2010, figures from the Government show that the number of affordable homes delivered has passed 263,000 and close to 186,000 from April 2011 onwards.

In the Affordable Homes Programme, the target was to deliver 170,000 from April 2011. This means that the Government has overseen the delivery of a further 16,000 affordable homes in that time.

Including affordable rented homes, affordable homeownership schemes and social rented homes, the Affordable Homes Programme has benefited councils from all over the country.

Although almost a third of affordable homes delivered last year are located in London, the figures show that actually, councils across the whole country have seen affordable homes delivered.

Those with the largest numbers in the last five years are diverse in geography. Cornwall has 3,750 affordable homes, with Birmingham benefiting from slightly less in 3,460.

Wiltshire has seen 3,420 built since 2010, the figure for Leeds is 2,360 while Liverpool and Manchester have 2,270 and 2,160 respectively.

The Government’s drive to build more affordable homes is not only good news for people looking for residential spaces, but also for the construction industry because in the next five years, the Affordable Homes Programme is targeted to deliver another 275,000 homes through private and public investment to the tune of £38Bn.

This means that housebuilding projects will be available in the construction industry, following on from recent news that said new housing starts are now at their highest annual level for eight years.

Construction of houses has doubled when compared with the figures in 2009 and the number of new homes built since April 2010 has passed 570,000.

Housing Minister, Brandon Lewis, is delighted at these figures which are a “boost to families across the country,” and more work will be done.

He said: “Our affordable housing efforts are exceeding our ambitions and delivering more than 260,000 affordable homes. It’s a boost to families across the country, providing them with new quality homes that are available at an affordable rent or to buy through our shared ownership scheme.

“This is real progress but we know there is more to do. That’s why £38Bn of public and private investment will be made available over the next five years to deliver 275,000 extra affordable homes – the fastest rate of delivery for 20 years.”

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