SNP Councillors welcome plans for more affordable housing in Aberdeenshire
>> 23 January 2017
SNP Councillors have welcomed plans for a further 95 affordable houses to be built during 2017/18 under the Council’s new build programme.
At a recent Social Work and Housing Committee, a report outlined Phase 6 of Aberdeenshire Council’s new build housing programme, which includes plans for housing in Huntly, Peterhead, Turriff, Oldmeldrum, Fraserburgh and Portlethen.
The report, which was presented to the Committee on Thursday 12th January, also revealed that 189 new affordable homes were already completed between April and December 2016 in Peterhead, Fraserburgh, Banff, Inverurie, Westhill and Ballater.
In addition to this, officers are continuing to work closely with partners across both the public and private sectors to maximise the delivery of affordable housing and optimize the Resource Planning Allocation from the Scottish Government. It is estimated this will provide over 600 affordable houses between March 2017 and December 2019.
The report also updated councillors on plans for the Housing Infrastructure Fund as part of the Aberdeen City Region Deal announcement. The fund is available either as a loan to private developers or as a grant to local authorities or registered social landlords. Eligible works include infrastructure required to start a project such as roads, flood remediation and demolition work.
Following engagement with the private sector five expressions of interest have been submitted from developers and social housing providers in Aberdeenshire.
Chair of Aberdeenshire Council’s Social Work and Housing Committee Cllr Anne Allan said:
“We have seen the council house waiting list reduce from over 10,000 to 8,500 and want to see this reduce further. Only by working with others will we be able to deliver the housing people in Aberdeenshire need.
“The SNP are committed to ensuring that a range of housing options are available, including shared equity, mid-market rent and social housing. People have a variety of different requirements and incomes when it comes to housing; one size does not fit all, and our approach ensures that they have the choice.”
