A HOUSING provider has built no new affordable homes in Rochford district despite promising to build 50 a year since 2007.

Members of Rochford District Council’s review committee heard the revelations at a meeting on Tuesday evening.

Councillors expressed their disappointment at members of Rochford Housing Association, part of national housing provider the Sanctuary Group, for failing to meet their promised targets for affordable housing.

The association had made it their stated aim to provide at least 50 new affordable homes each year, mostly homes which have low rents but also ones which are cheap to buy.

But councillors heard that, as of last month, no new homes have been provided for the past two and a half years, but just two planning applications have been submitted for a total of 12 homes.

The council transferred its housing stock, with almost 2,000 tenants, to Rochford Housing Association in December 2006 after 80 per cent of tenants voted in favour of the move.

Rowan Kirk, director of development services of the Sanctuary Group said: “We are disappointed that we haven’t delivered the 50 homes per annum.

“We are behind target on that.

“We are absolutely committed as a group to deliver more affordable housing.

“We clearly haven’t made significant progress in Rochford in the past two-and-a-half years, partly because of the downturn in the market and land in Rochford is difficult to come by.”

Mr Kirk also blamed a lack of funding from the Government’s Homes and Communities Agency, adding: “This is the key issue.

“Funding is getting tighter.

“We have the skills, the money and the resources in place.

“We understand your concerns and share your disappointment.”

Gillian Lucas-Gill (Con, Rochford) said: “You are 125 homes down already.

“Our main worry is that if you are relying on a big housing development, we could be waiting forever.

“I want you to be aware of how very concerned we are that this just isn’t happening.”

She asked why the association could not build on the garage sites they own.

She said: “No-one is expecting you to come up with a site and build 50 houses, but our concern is that you are doing nothing that we can see.

“If you take a garage site, then at least it’s a start.”

Mr Kirk said that they had looked at garage sites, but they were not “technically deliverable”.

Committee chairman June Lumley (Lib Dem, Grange) said that the promise to deliver 50 homes a year was a key factor in the council choosing the association to take over its housing stock.