A Suffolk town council is "very disappointed" social housing in a seaside town is being sold off amid concerns about dwindling numbers of affordable homes.

Social housing group Flagship Group has put a three-bedroom property in Aldeburgh High Street on the market through estate agents Clarke and Simpson for £350,000, sparking fears other homes could follow suit.

In January, the housing provider told this newspaper the first preference was to offer homes for sale ‘to other like-minded organisations’ before putting them on the open market, but in this case, another buyer could not be found.

However, deputy town clerk Sam Phillips feared more of the 150 social housing properties in the town could also be sold and said there were currently seven homes standing empty.

She added: “From our point of view, we are very disappointed about the sale because we are looking to retain at least the current level of social housing provision in the town.

“From speaking to Flagship, there is nothing to stop them from doing this, but we are not happy about it. We are very disappointed and we will look to keep as much social housing as possible in the town.”

The council has also called for money gained through the sale of social homes to be reinvested in new properties for the town, rather than being spent on neighbouring towns, such as Leiston and Saxmundham.

A local resident also expressed concern about the sale of the High Street home, saying: “What a disgrace. It was a well-kept property and with minimum upkeep could have made a fine family home.

“It is now on the market for £350,000. Presumably, it will be snapped up by a second home buyer for buy-to-let.”

James Payne, director of regeneration at Flagship Group, said: “We offered the opportunity to purchase the property on High Street to local organisations, but unfortunately as we were unable to find a suitable buyer, the property is now available on the open market.

“We have an ambitious new homes programme. As opportunities emerge, we’ll continue to build homes in communities like Aldeburgh, as we did recently at The Nest and this will ensure we continue providing more homes than we sell in the east of England.”