Pledge to provide 1000 affordable properties
South Lanarkshire Council aims to deliver over 1000 affordable homes by 2027.
At a recent Executive Committee meeting, plans were unveiled for the council’s Home+ programme which hopes to supply 1300 extra affordable homes by March 31, 2027.
Councillors approved the plans which add to the local authority’s affordable supply programme Home+, which has also modernised existing homes and made them among the most energy efficient in the country, through double glazing and better insulation.
This forms part of the council’s Local Housing Strategy 2022-2027 which aims to increase the overall housing supply and to improve access and choice of housing options that suit people’s needs which they can afford and sustain.
Council Leader Joe Fagan, said: “The cost of living crisis and the huge financial pressures on ordinary people right now are, unfortunately, making the need for affordable housing even more starkly clear.
“These plans show how serious the council is about helping local people by being unashamedly ambitious about our plans, and this target is being set to show how determined we are to deliver on the promises we made that we would create more council homes.”
Delivering the extra 1300 homes will be achieved through a flexible combination of new homes built on behalf of the council on existing SLC-owned land, new homes purchased off the shelf from housing developers and buying suitable existing homes.
Maintaining affordability and value for money will be a key aspect of the council’s housing supply programme.
The Home+ programme has been delivered through a combination of Scottish Government grant funding, Housing Revenue Account capital investment and council borrowing.
Davie McLachlan, the council’s Housing and Technical Resources committee chair, added: “Most of the 1300 additional homes in our new programme will be new homes built on existing council-owned land, but as part of our strategy we will also buy ‘off the shelf ’ new homes from developers, and suitable existing homes.
“The important thing is that we do our bit to provide more affordable social housing, of a variety that meets the needs of local people while maintaining affordability and value for money.”
Councillor Andrea Cowan (Rutherglen Central and North), questioned if homes will be energy efficient.
“Obviously these targets are welcomed,” said Councillor Cowan.
“We’re bringing more affordable houses into our stock. This is more of a question for the administration, you said you’d introduce green or climate friendly new homes, so I just want a reassurance that any homes built by the council or a developer will be energy efficient, and any properties bought in the buy back scheme will be retrofitted for energy efficiency?”
Council officers confirmed that there are ongoing discussions on how the council will introduce energy efficiency measures.
Standards have been set out and approved and buy-backs will be brought up to the highest standard for tenants.
Through the council’s affordable housing supply programme, Home+, the council has already increased the number of social rented homes across all areas of South Lanarkshire since 2015. And a target of 1000 extra council homes, set in 2017, is expected to be achieved by the end of 2022/23.