Brent Council has defended the number of affordable homes available in a new development near Wembley Stadium .

Its planning committee approved proposals for 340 new homes to be built on land next to the home of English football, with another 250 homes a five minute walk away.

A total of 32% of the properties will be "affordable housing", according to the council, which is short of its target of 50% for new homes in the borough.

The move came under fire from retired teacher Martin Francis, who claimed 32% was low.

Affordable housing is defined by government as no more than 80% of average local market rent, but Mr Francis claims this will still be unaffordable for people living in Brent.

CGIs showing Arena Square in Wembley

The Wembley resident told getwestlondon : "They (Brent Council) don't take up the issue of them not really being affordable.

"It is not affordable for most Brent residents. They are not particularly pro-active in getting the most amount of affordable homes out of developers.

"I don't think there is anything to celebrate about having 32% affordable homes."

The development comes as part of a regeneration plan which will eventually see 11,500 new homes and 10,000 jobs and apprenticeships, the council said.

Brent Council described the figure of 32% affordable homes as an "achievement", although it said it fell short of its "ideal target".

A council spokesman said: "As a borough, Brent is exceeding housebuilding targets, and of the thousands of homes built during 2010-15, 45% were affordable.

"Of course, we always aim to build as much affordable housing as possible, with an ideal target of 50%.

"However, this has to be set within the context of what is viable for a development to go ahead. 32% affordable housing on such an ambitious regeneration plan in Wembley is an achievement.

"We’re continuing to work hard to alleviate the housing shortage - an issue which affects the whole of London - and are proud to be aiming for an even higher target of at least 15,000 new homes over the next 10 years across the borough."

Councillor Margaret McLennan, deputy leader of Brent Council, said: "We’re serious about making this borough an amazing place to live and are working hard to build the homes that people need.

"We know that house prices are a massive issue and are pressing developers to deliver as many affordable units as possible.

"The approval of these plans shows that we are serious about regenerating the area, creating the much-needed new homes, jobs, apprenticeships and economic opportunities for local people and demonstrates that Brent is very much open for business."

Keep up to date with the latest news in west London via the free getwestlondon app.

You can even set it to receive push notifications for all the breaking news in your area.

Available to download from the App Store or Google Play for Android now!