West Dunbartonshire to Build 500 New Affordable Homes
Additional properties will be made available throughout West Dunbartonshire as part of a new affordable housing plan for the coming five years. How will this help to regenerate the area?
The plan sets out the aim of developing 500 new affordable homes and buying back 300 properties. Priority will continue to be given to regeneration areas and all projects will be required to provide at least 10 per cent specialist or fully wheelchair-accessible housing.
Implementing the highest levels of energy security is being encouraged
Both the new build and the buyback programmes will prioritise house types which contribute to identified needs including the supply of larger family homes and preventing homelessness.
Councillor Gurpreet Singh Johal, Convener of Housing and Communities explained that becoming more energy-efficient is the focus: “This is an ambitious plan and one which will make a huge difference to West Dunbartonshire. All homes in the programme will meet the council’s innovative Housing Design Standard and the highest levels of energy efficiency will also be encouraged, with an air quality sensor in each home.”
The council is the biggest developer in the programme with around 250 of the new homes being built across locations including Pappert, Mount Pleasant and Willox Park.
Councillor Hazel Sorrell, Vice Convener of Housing and Communities, added that collaboration will be key to the success of the project: “I’m pleased that this plan is taking into consideration the types and styles of home that are most needed in our community, and working alongside partners to ensure that these can be delivered.”
We have a number of new developments already on site or due to be on site early next year and I look forward to seeing our tenants in them.
The aim is to deliver 2500 new affordable homes over the next 10 years
Meanwhile, a new report has found that West Dunbartonshire Council is among the highest in the UK for the provision of social housing, and the council said it has exceeded targets for the delivery of new affordable housing in the area.
The Local Housing Strategy 2022-27, which was created to assess housing needs and conditions in order to address any identified issues, outlined ambitions to deliver 230 homes of all tenures, with a minimum of 80 being for social rent.
In the first year since the strategy was introduced (2021/22), the council delivered 383 homes, of which 340 were for social rent.
Overall, the total number of homes delivered is more than 150 over target, with more than four times the amount of social housing provided in communities.
Councillor Gurpreet Singh Johal expressed that delivering affordable housing is needed to create the thriving communities of the future: “It is really pleasing to see this progress in delivering additional homes for this area.
“While I appreciate that outcomes vary year on year, this is a positive step in the right direction and reaffirms our commitment to our aim of delivering 2500 new affordable and social rented homes over the next 10 years.”
Amplifying affordable housing developments will be needed in order to meet the current housing needs of Scotland and beyond face.
