THERE has been a significant drop in the number of affordable houses being built in the Bradford district, down by almost two thirds from four years ago.

Building work on affordable homes in Bradford plunged to its lowest level in years, as the Covid-19 pandemic was blamed for a slowdown in schemes across England.

Figures from Homes England show building started or was completed on 235 affordable homes in Bradford in the financial year 2020/21 – the lowest in four years.

This was 225 fewer than the year before and 434 fewer than 2017-18, a drop of 64.9 per cent.

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 Bradford district in the year to March, 110 affordable homes were completed, including 70 affordable rentals, seven social rentals and 33 affordable ownership homes.

The drop reflects a national trend, with the number of affordable homes started last year down 21 per cent from the year before, with the number of affordable homes completed down by 15 per cent.

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

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, 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.”

Bradford Council said it is working with developers to deliver new affordable housing and has also built houses of its own.

A spokesperson said: “The district’s affordable housing development is broadly in line with other areas nationally which has been affected by Covid-19 and Brexit.

“The council works collaboratively and creatively with partners and stakeholders to explore different ways to support and encourage the delivery of affordable housing in the district.

“The council also builds affordable houses and in recent years we have constructed almost 250 such properties.”

Incommunities is Bradford’s biggest social housing provider offering homes for social rent, shared ownership, retirement living, rent to buy and houses for sale, and has run a number of housing projects in recent years.

Late last year it began work to demolish flat blocks to make way for more than 100 affordable homes off Manchester Road.

Last year it also built 40 new homes in the Bolton Woods area all for affordable rent, which replaced a block of hard to rent flats, adding to 29 flats built in the area a year before.

In 2018 it turned former fire stations in Shipley and Idle into 22 family homes for rent, shared ownership and sale, and had plans for 30 houses in Manningham approved last year.

Rupert Pometsey, Director of Development and Growth at Incommunities, said: “In the year 2020/21, we completed 56 family homes in Bradford and currently have a further 67 homes being built in the district.

"Our new and increased housing development targets mean we aim to deliver more than 492 new affordable homes by 2025/26 in Bradford.

"At Incommunities, we recognise the need for more affordable housing in our district and we are working closely with other local housing providers to meet this need.”

There are also a host of developments around the district by private companies ongoing, providing a limited number of affordable houses for sale or rent at most sites.

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

He said: “The statistics show we’ve 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’re encouraged by recent data to suggest the sector is recovering well.”