The number of people waiting for a council house in west Fife has increased by 66% in the last five years, The Courier can reveal.
There are 5,873 individuals in the region on the local authority’s books. In January 2008 the figure was 3,538.
Across Fife as a whole, the council has seen a 71% increase in its housing list during the same period, with 15,238 people now awaiting homes.
A council spokesman said the main reason waiting lists had increased was because of a low housing turnover, coupled with the fact the council no longer had any “difficult to let” estates.
Rising population levels throughout west Fife are also thought to be a contributory factor.
In Dunfermline, in particular, the population has soared over the last decade, with the number of inhabitants rising from 79,125 in 2001 to 87,243 in 2011.
