WORK continues on a large scale £19.5 million building project to create new affordable homes for district residents.

Stroud District council has now reached the half way mark in its £19.5 million scheme to build 200 new homes by 2018.

So far the authority has built 116 new council houses in communities across the district.

In the last year it has completed four new housing schemes in Minchinhampton, Littlecombe, Cam and Berkley which have provided 67 new homes.

Twenty of these have been for shared ownership and 47 for rent.

A further 22 new homes were finished at the Top of Town in Stroud, at Target Close and Mason Road.

SDC has also purchased 18 properties and created nine more through conversions.

Work on 114 further properties is underway and due for completion early next spring.

This will see 31 more houses at the Top of Town sand four in Far Green.

An additional 51 are being built in Leonard Stanley, five in Woodchester, 14 in Cam and nine in Stonehouse.

Stroud is one of a very few local authorities across the country building new council homes.