Get a handle on our housing hell
» 30,000 Scots currently classed as homeless » 10,000 kids stuck in stopgap accommodation » But there’s a street in Paisley where almost 100 derelict homes sit empty and crumbling
THOUSANDS of Scots are in desperate need of decent, affordable homes amid an unrelenting housing crisis.
And many will feel justifiably angry at the pictures we share today of a street in Paisley full of derelict homes boarded up and gathering dust.
Some have been lying neglected for years, with the area now looking like a “set for a war movie”, locals say.
This is just one tiny corner of Scotland but we know there is a housing and homelessness crisis virtually everywhere in our country just now.
Four councils, including Glasgow and Edinburgh, have formally declared housing emergencies and more will surely follow if the housing squeeze continues while more people end up out on the streets.
This housing crisis – with crippling runaway rents, the worst housebuilding rates in 35 years and 10,000 kids living in temporary accommodation – simply cannot go on. It’s unacceptable.
No one envies our councils tasked with trying to tackle this. Not with their budgets getting squeezed year-on-year.
And certainly not after the Scottish Government shockingly axed £196million from its affordable housing budget.
But it’s surely incumbent on our local authorities – as well as the politicians at Holyrood – to ensure everything possible is being done so that decent housing stock isn’t going to waste or lying vacant.
To have nearly 100,000 houses sitting empty is nothing short of scandalous.
Any means that can be found to bring these back into use, including enhanced compulsory purchase orders, should be considered.
This is a housing emergency - and it’s past time our governments at all levels got onto an emergency footing to handle it.
UP to 100 former council houses have been left abandoned by a council in a “scandalous” failure to tackle the housing emergency, it has been claimed.
A street in Ferguslie, Paisley, now looks like “a set from a war movie” after years of neglect, locals said.
Images published today by the Record show blackened, boarded-up and crumbling buildings throughout the area – where Scots desperately needing homes could be housed.
Labour MSP Katy Clark hit out: “This is a shocking example of homes being left to decay at a time when we face a homelessness crisis in this country.”
Renfrewshire Council said plans to demolish the blocks and rebuild on the land are well in hand.
However, a source who used to work for the local authority’s housing department, claimed many of the homes could have been saved and refurbished relatively quickly instead of being knocked down.
They said: “The council decided some years ago to decant the tenants. Many had been bought under the Right to Buy scheme, so owners would have had to be bought out at substantial cost. The intention was to demolish these homes and build new homes. But the demolition contractor has been working very slowly on these homes.
“The council said it was not worth re-letting the Ferguslie ones and it would cost too much to refurb them.
“The area used to be pleasant with some lovely gardens – now it looks like a film set for a war movie.”
Renfrewshire Council said the first phase of demolition had been completed and all tenants and owners who wanted to stay in the area had been housed in nearby new-build accommodation. A spokesman said: “A tender is currently out for the demolition of the remaining 51 empty housing blocks and the future plans for this land will be explored with the local community.
“This outlines our commitment to working with local people to enhance and regenerate Ferguslie as we seek to provide a positive future for all.”
But it comes as we have told how a brutal housing shortage and a runaway property market have put many Scots in an impossible situation. Campaigners have slammed the Scottish Government for this year slashing its affordable housing budget by nearly £200million.
Last month, we revealed how 93,938 privately-owned homes are lying vacant across the country. That’s despite a record 30,000 Scots currently being classed as homeless – including 10,000 kids stuck in stopgap accommodation.
West Scotland MSP Clark said: “The Scottish Government could choose to take legal action and enact a large-scale national acquisition policy to buy private sector properties. The feasibility of this must be explored as what people need are homes, not soundbites.”
Housing minister Paul McLennan said: “We will continue to work with local authorities, housing associations and others to increase delivery of more affordable homes, the majority of which will be for social rent, including supporting acquisitions of existing properties.”