The news that Bradford Council is to build more than 200 affordable homes is welcome, because it is exactly the sort of housing provision the district needs.

For some time now the Telegraph & Argus has been highlighting, through the Save Our Green Spaces campaign, the issue of our green fields being grabbed by developers for housebuilding.

Invariably, these are for large homes which command a premium price for their semi-rural or rural locations - good financial sense for the developers and landowners, not so great news for those struggling to get on the housing ladder.

What the district desperately needs - and what this new initiative will provide, thanks to a £5 million grant from the Government's Homes and Communities Agency - are houses that are affordable to those who want to buy their first home or move up to accommodate growing families.

It has long been our contention that there are plenty of suitable sites in the inner city and spread around our communities, former industrial sites which are near to local amenities and already on good transport routes.

Building on sites like this has the dual benefit of creating new, affordable homes in areas that are often close to already established communities, and giving eyesore derelict sites a makeover and bringing them back into use.

The housing targets that Bradford will need to meet to accommodate the growing population over the coming years are still very large, but this announcement will be a good start to getting on the road to hitting those targets with the right sort of housing, in the right sort of area, and aimed at the people who need it.