Councillor hails construction of three new affordable homes

Angus Council’s communities convener has hailed the construction of new affordable homes in Friockheim.

The three new homes are partly built on the former Teachers Resource Centre, which is being converted into the new Friockhub community centre.

Communities convener Craig Fotheringham said the highquality homes were especially important in rural areas.

He said: “We are committed to building new houses in towns and villages across Angus to support and sustain local communities.

“The new houses are built to a very high specification with rent that is very affordable.

“This is especially important in the rural area where it could otherwise be hard for families to access high-quality accommodation.”

The new homes are all occupied and the development is part of the council’s strategic housing investment plan.

The rented homes were completed with grant funding from the Scottish Government, which has a target to deliver 50,000 new affordable homes in the lifetime of the current parliament.

Angus Council is committed to delivering 250 homes over the five-year period from 2017-18 to 2021-22 through its investment plan.

Funding in the region of £21 million has been allocated from the Housing Capital Expenditure Plan 2017-21 for this purpose.

On a visit to the Friockhub site last year, housing minister Margaret Burgess praised the Friockhub project.

She also announced a £25m fund to build 500 affordable homes in the Scottish countryside.

Councillors Craig Fotheringham and Lois Speed at the former Teachers Resource Centre.