PLANS to build 18 affordable homes on the site of the old Bromsgrove council offices have been deferred amid claims that the local housing association was being ripped off by about £600,000. A decision to accept a bid to manage the homes at Burcot Lane from the not-for-profit Bromsgrove District Housing Association (BDHT) was put off on Wednesday night (January 20) after district councillors realised they had accidentally revealed confidential financial details in a public meeting. Things got even worse when councillors were told that the BDHT bid was £2.1 million, well above the council’s valuation of £1.5 million. When a suggestion that the ‘surplus’ money should be ringfenced for more affordable housing was rejected, Labour Councillor Peter McDonald said it was shocking that the council were ‘ripping off a non-profit organization.’