Housing association Aster Group delivered 939 new homes last year – a 14 per cent increase on 2016’s total – and a leap up from their average 550 homes a year over the last 10 years. As part of a five-year £2.1bn affordable development programme Aster is securing sites and building throughout the south west – locally in Swindon, Devizes, Salisbury and Tidworth.

Amanda Williams, group development director at Aster Group, said: “We hit the ground running in 2017 and delivered more homes than ever. Our focus now is on maintaining this momentum so that we increase our build rate each year.

“The gap between the average house price and what most people can afford continues to widen. Our mission is to address this by making more homes available. But that doesn’t mean simply increasing volume, it also means providing more choice in the market.”