Reading Borough Council in Berkshire delivered only 11 affordable homes during the last reporting year, missing its own target of 169 homes. This shortfall comes at a time when nearly 4,700 families are currently waiting for a council home in the area.
According to the Reading and Wokingham Green Party, opposition leader Cllr Rob White described the low number of homes as a serious failure. He noted that official reports suggest the town needs around 406 new affordable homes every year to meet the actual demand from local residents.
The latest Reading Borough Council monitoring report shows that the town has a 3.55-year supply of land available for new housing. This is lower than the five-year supply required by national rules, which limits the amount of land ready for building.
Deputy leader Cllr Micky Leng defended the figures, stating that the number of new homes built can change from year to year. He explained that because large building projects are often completed in different stages, the number of finished homes can look low in some years and higher in others.
The council is also in the process of closing its own rental company, Homes for Reading, because the business is no longer financially viable. This decision is expected to impact 94 families who are currently renting their homes through the service.
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