A housing association with properties across the district has suspended two of its senior staff as part of an internal investigation, it was revealed today.

The two members of staff have been suspended on full pay while the probe is carried out, said Manningham Housing Association’s chief executive Ansar Ali.

It is understood the investigation relates to the costs of the maintenance programme carried out by the association, which manages more than 1,000 properties in Bradford and Keighley, but Mr Ali said he could not discuss the specifics.

He said he had taken the decision to suspend his staff but stressed he would not be revealing the circumstances surrounding it. He would not go into the details of the investigation, who would be leading it or how long it would take.

“We will not be making any further comments until the investigation is concluded,” he said.

The suspensions came to light after the Telegraph & Argus received an e-mail from a tenant saying he and others had been to MHA’s housing office to find out what was going on but could not get any answers.

The tenant claimed there were problems that were being “concealed”.

The T&A then contacted Mr Ali, who issued a formal statement confirming staff had been suspended, adding: “If any residents have concerns they can come and talk to me. No-one has done that yet.”

Last February, MHA revealed an ambitious £33m plan to build 300 homes in the Bradford district over the next five years, creating hundreds of jobs.

But when asked about that plan this week, Mr Ali said: “We now need to review our business plan in the light of recent circumstances which have also included the credit crunch.”

Mr Ali became Manningham Housing Association’s new chief executive on February 1, saying he was committed to improving housing conditions in the city.

MHA has more than 1,000 homes, of which nearly half have four bedrooms or more, housing more than 5,000 residents.

A spokesman for housing association regulator and watchdog the Tenants Services Authority said: “The TSA is aware of the existence of certain allegations about the conduct of Manningham’s business. It is not appropriate for the TSA to comment publicly on the detail of such matters.”