ONLY 96 affordable homes were built in Colchester in the last year.

The Annual Monitoring Report said only 13.5 per cent of all homes built were affordable units during the period of 2013- 14.

Of these 85 were affordable to rent, two were intermediate tenure and nine were shared ownership.

Colchester Council has reduced the number of affordable homes developers have to build from 35 per cent to 20 per cent as part of its review of the Local Plan in July this year.

In total, 725 homes were built between April 1, 2013, and March 31, 2014. This was an increase on the previous year’s total of 617.

But committee member Gerard Oxford criticised the figures.

He said: “13 per cent of affordable homes is so, so telling. It is woefully low.”

However, planning officers sought to emphasise the recent change in required percentage of affordable homes.

Planning policy manager Karen Tyler said: “At least we are getting 13 per cent of 725, it could have been 13 per cent of 200.”