Edinburgh Council delivers plan to build 20,000 new affordable homes

Council chiefs in Edinburgh have approved landmark plans to build up to 20,000 new affordable homes.

The City of Edinburgh Council has outlined a detailed plan to deliver on the first phase of a commitment to build 20,000 affordable homes in the next ten years. In January 2016, the council had pledged to create 16,000 homes over the next decade in a historic commitment but this has now been increased by 4,000. The agreement includes a commitment to deliver around 3,000 affordable homes with integrated health, care and support services for people with complex physical and health needs.

The Strategic Housing Investment Plan for 2018/19 to 2022/23 was approved by the Housing and Economy Committee on November 2 and is now due to go before the Scottish government. It would see the programme deliver nearly 8,000 affordable homes over the next five years.

The city council’s convener of housing and economy, Gavin Barrie, said: “This is the largest strategic housing investment plan ever put forward to committee for approval. It will also accelerate house building to provide the increase in affordable homes that Edinburgh so desperately needs, helping all residents on low to moderate incomes to access the right type of housing to meet their needs.”

John Blackwood, chief executive of the Scottish Association of Landlords, said: “This is fantastic news for the city of Edinburgh and a sign of real long-term action being taken to tackle the housing crisis we are facing.  SAL fully endorses this move and believes it can reduce pressure on the Private Rented Sector (PRS) and be more effective in tackling rent rises caused by high demand and reduced supply better than other measures being considered.”