Over £590 million will be made available for 2017/18 to increase the supply of affordable homes in Scotland, Angela Constance has announced. The Scottish Greens have welcomed the announcement but say that more must be done to bring empty homes back into use.
Councils across the country will share £422 million to deliver more affordable homes in their local communites. The remaining investment will fund national schemes, including support for first time buyers and increasing rural and island housing.
The total budget is an increase of £18 million compared to last year.
Announcing the funding on a visit to Link Housing Association’s new City Park development in North Edinburgh – where 161 city centre homes are being built for social and mid-market rent and shared equity, supported by £7.3 million from the Scottish Government – Communities Secretary Angela Constance said:
“A good supply of affordable homes is vital to ensuring everyone has an equal chance of getting on in life. That is why it is key to this Government’s commitment to tackling poverty, reducing inequality and building strong local communities. It also boosts the economy by supporting 14,000 jobs right across the country.
“We’re determined to increase and accelerate housing supply – working in partnership with councils and housing associations to deliver quality homes to fit local needs.
“We are committed to delivering at least 50,000 new affordable homes over this Parliament backed by £3 billion. This major and increased investment for 2017/18 that I’m announcing today supports our ambitious commitment.”
While the Scottish Greens have welcomed more affordable homes, Andy Wightman MSP, the party’s Housing spokesperson,urged greater effort to bring empty homes back into use.
Scottish Ministers today confirmed that £590 million is being made available to increase the supply of affordable homes in Scotland over the coming year.
Green MSPs point out that given average property prices, this funding will only deliver 4,000 homes or 8 per cent of the government’s target of 50,000 homes by 2021.
Andy Wightman, Housing spokesperson for the Scottish Greens and MSP for Lothian, said: “As well as building more homes, we need to bring Scotland’s empty homes back into use as homelessness figures are rising across the country. Shelter Scotland report that there are 34,000 empty homes in the private sector that can be used to tackle the housing crisis.
“Coupled with that, there are issues with the overwhelming growth of the short term lets sector too. In Edinburgh alone, over 6,200 properties are rented out in this way, excluding people from taking up permanent tenancies in the city. Yet, this is not just an urban issue, as it also significantly blights the sustainability of our rural communities. We therefore need local councils and Scottish Ministers to do more to support efforts in this area.
“Our councils should also be empowered to take a much bolder approach to housing, buying land at existing use value so budgets go much further, and discouraging the speculative volume house building that does so much damage to our communities.”
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