YORKSHIRE Housing has announced plans to build another 1,500 social and affordable homes across the region over the next three years.

The housing association already has 2,500 properties in the Bradford district, but the number of homes it plans to build in the area will remain unknown until the proposals are finalised.

Chief Executive Mervyn Jones said the announcement was good news at a time when the region was feeling the full effect of a housing shortage.

The Leeds-based provider, which owns and manages 16,000 social and affordable properties, made the announcement after securing £200 million from investors by issuing a bond – a type of loan that will allow it to borrow over the long-term.

Mr Jones said: “This is our commitment to help tackle the issue of a serious housing shortage in the region. Securing this amount of investment is a huge vote of confidence for what we are doing in Yorkshire.”

The news comes weeks after a report by the National Housing Federation that said the region was cracking under the pressure of a chronic shortage of housing. Current building rates mean the region will face a shortfall of 200,000 homes by 2031.