Home truths: council acts to address housing crisis

Council plans to build an additional 5000 homes

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The City of Edinburgh Council has set out plans to build 8,000 homes in an attempt to address the shortage of affordable housing and tackle the impact of soaring housing costs in the private sector.

A report to Tuesday’s Health, Social Care and Housing Committee will outline proposals to increase the Council’s house-building programme from 3,000 to 8,000 over the next decade.

The report represents a major change in the Council’s bid to meet growing demand for new affordable homes. Almost 150 households bid for every Council and housing association home available to let in Edinburgh, and the city’s population is set to grow by up to 30% over the next 20 years.

The Council has already committed to funding the construction of almost 3,000 new homes through the award-winning 21st Century Homes and working in partnership with the National Housing Trust. The proposals are part of the Council’s ongoing budget consultation details, of which can be accessed here.

Councillor Cammy Day, Housing Leader for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Expanding the Council’s award-winning house-building programme would be a bold and strategic response to the acute shortage of homes in Edinburgh. High quality, low cost, energy efficient housing is simply out of reach for far too many people in the city. We are determined to address that.”

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davepickering

Edinburgh reporter and photographer