Powys falls 687 homes short of housing target despite affordable homes success

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporter

Powys County Council has fallen almost 700 homes short of its 15-year housing target, although the number of affordable homes built has exceeded expectations.

A report presented to the council's Cabinet on Tuesday, October 20, revealed that 3,813 new homes were built across the county between 2011 and 2026, against a target of 4,500.

That represents 85% of the target, leaving a shortfall of 687 homes.

However, affordable housing performed much better, with 1,160 homes delivered against a target of 952 – exceeding the council’s goal by 208 properties.

The figures were included in the final annual monitoring report for the council's Local Development Plan (LDP), which guided planning decisions across Powys from 2011 until March 31 this year.

The report also showed that 390 new homes were completed during 2025/26, an increase of 40 on the previous year.

Of these, 214 were affordable homes, up by 11, while 181 properties were built on sites not originally identified for development in the LDP.

These so-called 'windfall' developments included previously developed land, conversions, small sites within existing settlements and affordable housing exception sites.

Council leader Cllr Jake Berriman (Liberal Democrat – Llandrindod North) said the plan had largely achieved its objectives, despite falling short on overall housing delivery.

“Overall housing delivery remains one of our key concerns,” he said.

“We delivered 3,813 new homes against a target of 4,500, leaving a shortfall of 687. This is a delivery rate of about 85% of the target.”

But he welcomed the stronger performance on affordable housing.

“We’ve had some really strong performance in delivering affordable housing, which pleases all of us,” he said.

“Overall, since 2011, 1,160 affordable homes have been built. This exceeds the LDP target of 952 by some 208, achieving 121% of the target.”

Cllr Berriman said Welsh Government-supported housing schemes had performed well, while private and mixed developments had struggled to progress for various reasons.

Former council leader and current education portfolio holder Cllr James Gibson-Watt (Liberal Democrat – Glasbury) said environmental restrictions had made delivering new housing particularly challenging.

“I think, given the constraints slapped upon the county by regulators, we’ve done pretty well, considering half of the county was covered by phosphate restrictions, which made development very difficult, if not impossible, in a lot of places,” he said.

Although the LDP expired in March, it remains a consideration when deciding planning applications while the council prepares its delayed replacement.

Cabinet approved the monitoring report, which will now be submitted to the Welsh Government by the end of October and published on the council’s website.