Drop in number of affordable homes being built in Mansfield and Ashfield

More than 63,000 affordable homes were delivered across the country as of March 2023 – the highest number since 2014-15.

But experts said this is still inadequate and a more ambitious house building agenda is needed.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) figures show 17 affordable homes were completed in Mansfield in 2022-23 – down from 31 during the same period the year before – while 42 were completed in Ashfield, down from 85 the year before.

The figures include social and affordable rental properties, affordable home ownership, shared ownership and first homes.

The number of social rent homes, however, has seen a fall in the last decade, with affordable rent now the most common housing for new supply.

Social rental properties are for low-income families and typically cost about 50 per cent of market rents, while affordable housing is provided to low-income earners and can be charged up to 80 per cent of market rents.

Luke Murphy, associate director at think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research, said: “While it’s positive to see the overall number of affordable homes being built rise, it is still far short of adequate and the number of genuinely affordable homes built – those for social rent – remain at historically low levels.”

“We need a far more ambitious house building agenda.”

In Mansfield, four affordable rent homes and 13 shared ownership dwellings were delivered, while in Ashfield, 42 affordable rent homes were delivered.

Across the country, there were also 71,000 affordable dwellings started on site in 2022-23, with 44 of those in Ashfield and 137 in Mansfield – the highest number since records began in 2015-16.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter said: “The Government’s statistics show that despite the escalating housing emergency, not enough has changed and we are still miles away from building the number of social homes we need.”

A DLUHC spokesperson said: “We are already investing in more affordable and social homes, and since 2010 have delivered over 684,800 new affordable homes, including over 171,100 homes for social rent.

“Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country.”