BRADFORD-based housing association Accent Housing has announced plans to build about 500 homes a year for the next five years.

Accent, whose head office is in Shipley, currently owns and manages over 20,500 homes across the country, over 2,000 of which are in and around Bradford.

To meet the need for affordable homes across the country, Accent will build over half of its new homes in the East, but it will also build a large number of new homes across Bradford and the Yorkshire region.

The homes will be available for rent, shared ownership and rent to buy, depending on what type of housing is most needed in the area.

Accent’s plans for building new homes come just weeks after is secured a £350 million public bond. The record breaking debut bond was the first 30-year, own-name bond in the housing sector to secure a coupon rate of interest of under 3% - at 2.625%.

Accent’s executive director of development and growth, Sarah Ireland said: “This is a really exciting time for Accent. Our plans for development and growth have been in the making for over a year and with our new and very experienced sales and development team, we can really focus on building our new homes. We are ready to get out there and make our own contribution to help resolve the national housing crisis caused by the lack of affordable housing in so many of our communities.“

Alongside its plans to build homes, the association will also invest in its existing homes. “We want to make sure all our homes are always great places to live,” said Ms Ireland. “Just like our new homes, our existing homes will offer the best possible design and efficiency standards so they are high quality, safe, secure and affordable for our residents to live in.”