Stockbridge residents have accused a housing association of going back on its word after a property was sold off in the town.

Sheila Coleman said that following the sale of a property in The Milsoms, Aster had said “they wouldn’t sell any more off”. The company has now made plans to sell a house in Roman Road.

In response, the company said the house needed a “lot of work” and that it needed to strike a balance between selling off old housing and investing in new affordable homes.

Residents had previously raised concerns after Aster sold a bungalow in The Milsoms that it was a “slippery slope” towards the selling off of other affordable housing in the area. At the time, resident Derek Hale said the move was “depriving people in need”.

Now, a property in Roman Road, near Test Valley School, is to be sold. Sheila said that a couple had lived in the house for more than 40 years, but that “it probably just needs redecorating”. She said that affordable housing was in high demand in Stockbridge.

“A lot of people need three bedroom houses but they [Aster] keep selling them off,” she said. “I’ve got family that need housing and they keep blocking people off by selling them.

“Where are people meant to live? I just feel sorry for youngsters.”

However, this has been disputed by Aster, who say that the house needs significant work to bring it up to modern standards, and that three houses will be built in Kings Somborne.

An Aster Group spokesperson said: “We regularly carry out reviews to look at the quality of our housing to ensure they meet the standards we expect. We recently assessed one of our homes in Roman Road and found that as it’s 100 years old, a lot of work is needed to bring it up to the right standard.

“Due to this, it’s more cost effective for us to sell this home and use the funds to build new, more energy efficient affordable homes. We’ve recently been granted approval to build three new affordable homes less than four miles away from this property in Eldon Road, Kings Somborne which will provide modern affordable housing for the community.

“We’re committed to providing affordable homes at prices that our customers can afford. We do, however, need to strike a balance between selling some of our stock so that we can reinvest the funds towards providing new affordable homes that are fit for purpose.”