Need for 60,000 houses in five years

THE level of need for affordable housing in Scotland is double what is currently being delivered, according to a report.

At least 12,000 homes need to be built every year for the next five years to meet demand, three housing associations have said.

Under t aking such a programme would cost £700 million a year, experts commissioned to look into the issue found.

The Scottish Government currently has a target of building 6,000 affordable homes per year.

A report – Affordable Housing Need In Scotland – was carried out by a team from the independent Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam, Sheffield University and the University of St Andrews.

It was commissioned by Shelter Scotland, the Char tered Institute of Housing Scotland and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, and calls for the biggest house building programme in Scotland since the 1970s.

The three housing associations are calling on all Scotland’s political parties to set “ambitious” targets for new affordable housing in their manifestos for next year’s Scottish Parliament elections.

Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, said: “We are calling on all political par ties in Scotland to acknowledge there is a crisis by making the building of new affordable homes a priority in their manifestos for the forthcoming elections.”