Partnership Progress Facilitates Future For Highland Affordable Housing

Members of the Highland Council’s Housing and Social Committee have resoundingly welcomed the Council’s progress in delivering their 2005/06 Housing Development Programme and approved an indicative five year housing development programme funded by the Community Ownership Programme and Communities Scotland that will help tackle affordable housing shortages up to 2009/10.

The level of investment has increased from around £7m three years ago to £25.5m this year, including £10m from the Community Ownership Programme plus funding from the Landbanking Fund and council tax.

This year alone, councillors were informed that 275 new affordable homes would be built in the Highlands through the 2005/06 Development Programme and that the five year development programme of £125million could see 2500 new homes being built over that period

Securing this funding was recognised as a major achievement of local housing development forums which were set up in each of the Council Areas involving Council staff and officers from Communities Scotland, housing associations local enterprise companies and other agencies.

As the Scottish Executive recognises the local housing forums as excellent examples of partnership working, the forums have ensured that over the last four years the Highland Council area has picked up development opportunity slippage from elsewhere in Scotland resulting in an increase of around 25-30% in the Highlands investment programme.

Highland Council’s Housing spokesperson, Councillor Sheena Slimon said: "The fact that our housing development programme is very positive is mainly due to our strong partnerships with local housing associations, Communities Scotland and the support of services within the Highland Council. The programme clearly demonstrates that we will be able to double the number of affordable houses started in the Highlands in 2005/2006.

Thanks to the partnerships we have been able to access extra funding from Communities Scotland and £10million through the Community Ownership Programme."

Members of the Housing and Social Work Committee were of the view that the largest single constraint to housing development in the Highlands is the lack of investment in water supply and sewerage treatment works for new developments and expansion of existing settlements and called for further top level representations to be made to Scottish Water to tackle this issue.

An additional factor in supplying affordable housing in the Highlands has been the success of the Landbanking Fund administered by the Highland Housing Alliance which currently stands at £3million. Councillors were informed that the Scottish Executive had agreed to increase this level of fund to £5m and the Council would match fund this by sale of Council land and the increase in Council Tax on second and holiday homes.