Fewer affordable homes were built in the Maldon district this year, despite numbers rising across England.

Government figures show just 123 affordable homes were completed in Maldon in 2022-23 – down from 217 the year before.

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

Social rental properties are for low-income families and 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.

In Maldon, 95 affordable rent homes and 28 shared ownership properties were built.

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

But Luke Murphy, of 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.”

A government spokesman 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.”