HOUSE building has rocketed 37 per cent in Worcester - with the city enjoying a construction boom.

New figures from Worcester City Council reveal how in the 2015/16 financial year ending in March, 637 new properties were built by developers.

The figure is a significant leap on the 450 new homes going up in the previous year, and much higher than the figures of 280 and 142 in the 12-month periods before that.

Last year's tally of 637 included 257 affordable homes, some 42 per cent of the total, more than double the average of 106 per year during the previous decade.

The huge rise goes hand-in-hand with years of steadily improving economic stats on the city, something Worcester MP Robin Walker brought to the nation's attention at Prime Minister's Questions this week.

The leadership at Worcester City Council says it aims to keep up the momentum.

Labour Councillor Geoff Williams, cabinet member for economic prosperity and growth, has hailed the new figures.

"Providing homes for our residents, ensuring they can continue to live and work in our city, is one of the biggest challenges Worcester faces, so it's very good news that so many new homes were completed in the last year," he said.

"A priority for our administration is to ensure that people from all walks of life can enjoy the benefits of living in our city, so I'm particularly pleased to see the increase in affordable housing."

The Labour group has previously faced some criticism from Mr Walker after its previous 12-month spell in charge at the council in 2013/14 saw a fall in affordable housing creation.

The current administration has always insisted that property building can takes years to come to fruition once planning permission is handed to developers.

In the last financial year the city council was under Conservative control.

Worcester's house building boom comes at a time when the South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) earmarks land for 28,370 properties across Malvern, Wychavon and the city by 2030.

The new home figures are included in a report that will be discussed by the council's planning committee next week.

At Prime Minister's Questions this week David Cameron came under pressure from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn over house building.

The now-departed premier told MPs he expected to see the new-look Government continue to make it a priority.