Plans to build 7,000 affordable houses by 2029 look in doubt as the district council continues to fall behind its own planning targets.

Every year 374 affordable houses need to be built in the Warwick district, but in 2020/21 less than two thirds of that were made.

Whilst the recent shortfall has been blamed on Covid-19, Warwick District Council has actually missed its own target in six of the last eight financial years.

And with a recent report published by Nub News revealing that house prices in Kenilworth have risen by nearly £30,000 in the last 12 months, local councillors have said more needs to be done to fix the problem.

'Affordable' houses are meant to be 20 per cent cheaper to buy or rent compared to the local market value.

The local plan, which covers the period 2011-2029, requires 932 new houses to be built each year in Warwick district, 374 of which should be affordable.

The 374 also includes 94 homes built on behalf of Coventry City Council.

But between March 2020 and April 2021 just 228 affordable houses were built in the district - 61 per cent of the council's target.

Since 2011 WDC has only hit its targets twice - in 2018/19 and 2019/20.

And with the council aiming to provide nearly 7,000 new affordable homes by 2029, it has just reached the 2,000 mark.

According to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities the number of affordable houses built nationwide was down 12 per cent in 2020/21.

Council comment

WDC's authority monitory report blamed the recent shortfall on the pandemic but added: "Reduced housing numbers during 2020/21 cannot be solely attributed to Covid-19, as it is likely that other factors have played a part.

"It is not possible to disaggregate the relative impacts of Covid-19, Brexit, and the availability of foreign workers and delivery drivers."

WDC added that housing is a "cyclical process" and therefore the number of houses built year on year is likely to fluctuate.

"The council is not in control of the ultimate delivery of much affordable housing," a spokesperson added.

"If rates of housing development slow down, as has happened as a consequence of the pandemic, then this will also impact on the rates of delivery of affordable housing."

The council also said it "cannot be accurately forecast" whether the target of 7,000 new affordable homes by 2029 will be met.

But added: "It can be predicted with confidence that more affordable housing will be built in 2021/22 than in the previous year, and that there is a large 'pipeline' of affordable housing schemes for which the council has given planning permission."

Planning permission has been granted for another 2,228 affordable houses, but only 338 are actually under construction.