NEEDY home-seekers from around Stratford received a boost this week when a district councillor claimed victory in his fight for more social housing.

Councillor Peter Moorse said last month he was concerned that some housing developers were using a planning loophole to avoid handing over land for cheap homes by building fewer than 15 homes per site - the legal limit for land hand-overs.

Coun Moorse was jubilant this week after council officers accepted his example of the Coach House Hotel development in the town, which contains three applications for less than 15 homes from three separate companies, should be treated as a single application, forcing the firms to give up land.

"I'm delighted that the council's legal advice supports my view," said coun Moorse.

"The planning report concludes that all three applications should be treated as one site, which means the council can require the developer to provide a substantial element of the site for social housing, which is greatly needed in Stratford."