Lib Dem council to build 1,100 homes to tackle housing crisis

26 November 2008

The Lib Dem led City Council are investigating building 1,100 new homes. These will be the first Council homes to be built in nearly 20 years, and will be made up of housing for sale and rent.

These plans mark a major change in the city’s housing strategy for tackling the shortage of affordable housing and form part of the city’s response to the credit crunch which includes help for homebuyers.

Under these plans homes would be built in Pennywell, North Sighthill and Gracemount and will be a major boost to the regeneration of each of these areas. Affordable housing would be subsidised by the surplus generated from housing for sale. A detailed business case is at the time of writing in preparation.

The City’s Lib Dem Housing Convenor Councillor Paul Edie said: “I am really pleased to announce that we aim to build the first new council housing in Edinburgh for nearly 20 year. This is the first time in a generation that the Council has considered building homes which marks a major shift in strategy and defining Council housing in the 21st Century. I hope the people of Edinburgh will be reassured that their Council is responding to the obvious difficulties many of them face in finding a home. We are reinventing how Council housing is managed and making changes to tackle the housing crisis head on. Most importantly we are providing Edinburgh with homes that are badly needed.”