Council chiefs in Perth and Kinross have unveiled plans to build nearly 1,400 affordable new homes by 2027.
An update to the strategic housing investment plan (SHIP) sets out the local authority’s priorities for affordable housing over the next five years.
It includes proposals to build 280 new houses a year – above its previous annual target of 150 from recent years.
The properties will come through a combination of newbuilds, bringing empty homes back into use and remodelling existing buildings for housing.
What is the council proposing?
The four key strategies of the project are to promote or address:
- Independent living – ensuring people can live independently at home for as long as possible with help from the community and local support networks
- Sustainable communities – the supply of more affordable homes and stock to ensure that homes are available in the size, type and location people want to live in with access to suitable services and facilities.
- Homelessness – ensuring communities are safe and secure for residents of Perth and Kinross with access to good quality, affordable accommodation with the necessary support in place to sustain people in their homes and prevent people becoming homeless.
- Housing conditions, fuel poverty and climate change – assisting residents to live in warm, dry, energy efficient and low-carbon homes which they can afford to heat.
Councillor Bob Brawn, housing and communities convener, said: “Good quality affordable homes have a hugely positive impact on the overall quality of life for the people who live in them.
“With demand for housing in Perth and Kinross continuing to rise, and the housing needs of our communities becoming increasingly complex, our commitment to providing a range of affordable housing options remains a key strategic priority.
We remain committed to building more homes and overseeing a long-term programme of new affordable housing
“We have made great progress over the last five years in Perth and Kinross, consistently delivering more new affordable homes than our 150 per year target. I am delighted that the strategic housing investment plan for the next five years remains ambitious.
“We remain committed to building more homes and overseeing a long-term programme of new affordable housing development to meet the needs of the people who live in Perth and Kinross.
“This will help us achieve the outcomes set out in our local housing strategy and also support the Scottish Government’s Housing to 2040 strategy.”
