Bob the idle builder?

Rising demand for social housing in East Lancashire is not being met.

A report by the National Housing Federation shows over 20,000 of the region's households await social housing, yet only 226 affordable homes were built last year. The Federation says demand stems from the near-impossibility for new buyers to get onto the property ladder, in the wake of the credit crunch.

The problem most obviously affects Blackburn and Darwen, where 10,066 households were on 2007's waiting list.  Across the whole North West, nearly 500,000 people now need affordable housing.