The GSD has said that "no one should be taken in by the Government’s tired and transparent electioneering" in yesterday's announcement on affordable housing.

A statement continued: "The facts speak for themselves. Chatham Views was announced 9 years ago, and Bob Peliza Mews 11 years ago. The delays are a disgraceful state of affairs that has left many families having to put their lives on hold during this time. Some will have watched their once very young children grow up and graduate from university before receiving the keys to homes they should have moved into years ago.

"The Government cannot even keep to their most recent completion timelines. Chatham should have been ready by February and Bob Peliza Phase 1 by July this year. Those deadlines have now slipped yet again – in the case of Bob Peliza Phase 1 to the end of this year.

"The GSD is receiving reports of very limited activity on the Bob Peliza site, leading to what many prospective tenants already fear: that they are being set up for yet another disappointment, with little trust and confidence that the latest completion date will be met.

"As for Bob Peliza Phase 2, the situation is simply indefensible. The newly projected completion date would mean, in effect, that the project is delivered 12 years after it was first promised.

"The attempt to justify this by citing the relocation of “critical national infrastructure” and the presence of a commercial warehouse is a weak excuse that will ring hollow with hundreds of purchasers, some of whom are losing hope of ever securing their homes. It also exposes yet another failure to deliver on promises as well as reflecting a lack of planning. Were the so-called “critical national infrastructure” and warehouse not already there when the development was first announced?"

Damon Bossino said: “Meanwhile, families remain trapped in uncertainty, with mortgage arrangements and other financial commitments left in limbo because they still do not know when their homes will be delivered. People simply want to be told the truth as they are no longer impressed or in any way taken in by the Government’s spin.”