Up to ten 'affordable' homes a week could be completed in Dorset during the coming year.

However the figure is subject to market pressures and might drop to 300 over the 12 months, rather than the hoped for 500.

The data was given to Portland councillor Paul Kimber at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting in response to a question about county-wide affordable home provision.

Housing portfolio holder Cllr Graham Carr-Jones told him that Dorset Council was currently predicting 300 new affordable homes to be built in the Dorset Council area in 2021/22.

"This number could increase during the year, with up to an additional 200 homes under way during this period. Due to current challenges facing the building industry we are remaining cautious in predicting how many of those additional 200 homes will be built during the next 12 months, but we expect to have 500 new affordable homes within this current pipeline," he said.

He said that several affordable housing schemes have recently been approved by the planning committees, although some of these will not complete until after next year.

Cllr Carr-Jones said that affordable homes would be built across the area with several of the larger towns having affordable homes delivered within open market sites. These include Chickerell, Littlemoor, Swanage, Verwood, Wimborne, Shaftesbury, Dorchester and Weymouth.

He said other affordable housing developments worth noting were the Bridport Cohousing scheme with 53 affordable homes under construction; Flaxfield Rise, Beaminster where Magna are delivering an all-affordable site of 30 homes; the Clipper Tea site at Beaminster where Aster will continue development of the all affordable site; Stone Lane, Holwell where Stonewater are completing a 14 home rural exception site; Spyway Orchard, Langton Matravers where Aster are developing 28 affordable homes and Thornhill Road, Stalbridge, where a 60 home all affordable scheme being developed by Sovereign Housing.