TRAFFORD Council missed its house building target by more than 20 per cent over the last three years.

Across the 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 financial years, Trafford was meant to build 3,493 new homes across the borough, according to set housing targets.

The council managed to build 2,769 homes during this time – reaching 79 per cent of its overall target.

More than a third of the total built in the last three years was built by the council in one year alone, with 1,076 homes built in the 2020-21 financial year.

A total of 970 were built during the 2018-19 financial year and 723 in the 2019-20 financial year.

Compared to the rest of Greater Manchester’s boroughs, Manchester, Rochdale, Salford and Wigan all built more homes than their targets demanded – with Salford building almost three times as many as were required.

Trafford built 79 per cent of its target homes, with only Bolton (which built 77 per cent) and Bury (which built 52 per cent) building lower amounts compared to their own targets.

A spokesperson for Trafford Council said: “Housing Targets are calculated nationally and in the case of Trafford, set a housing figure significantly higher than historic housing completions. It takes a number of years for home building to get going – but the council is committed to improving housing delivery to ensure every resident has access to the home they need.

“We have made affordable homes a major priority and will continue to build more in the coming years. We recently completed on 30 new units for social rent in Timperley, partly funded by our Affordable Housing Fund and will continue to prioritise tackling the housing crisis head on.

“We acknowledge that we don’t yet meet the national housing target – but have put together a comprehensive action plan to ensure more homes are built in the area in future.”

The government's Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said: “Councils, not central government, set their own housing targets in their local plan.

“Our guidance should be considered alongside local constraints, including the need for infrastructure to support new development, and consideration for the environment.”

In its recent spending review, the government announced £1.8 billion in funding to deliver new homes, infrastructure and facilities.

It is understood the government believes councils and their communities are best placed to take decisions on local planning matters in their area without interference from central government.

The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that authorities should identify enough sites to meet five years’ worth of the areas housing requirement, plus a buffer of five per cent to ensure choice in the market.