You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
6% decrease in Scottish affordable homes
There has been a 6% decrease in the number of affordable homes built in Scotland, amid warnings that delivery is falling short of the government’s 50,000 affordable homes target.
The latest figures from the Scottish Government show that under the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, 1,592 homes were built between April and June this year, a 6% decrease on the same period last year.
The figures also revealed that 7,336 homes were built across 2016/17. While this is a 13% increase on the previous year, Shelter Scotland warned that it represents only 14% of the government’s target to build 50,000 new homes over five years.
The majority of these homes (63%) are new build and the remaining 37% were off-the-shelf purchases or rehabilitations.
But housing starts and approvals increased between April and June, with 2,076 affordable homes started – a 14% increase – and 1,456 affordable homes approved, 30% more than the previous year.
Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, said: “These figures show that last year only 7,336 new homes were completed under the Affordable Housing Supply Programme. This is just 14% of the Scottish Government’s five-year target to build 50,000 new affordable homes.”
Scotland’s housing minister Kevin Stewart said: “This government is committed to delivering more affordable housing per head of the population than the UK government. We are offering significantly more grant funding for each unit of affordable housing, with each unit in Scotland supported by an average of £52,400 compared to just £25,300 in England.
“We’re also building social housing at a faster rate than any other part of the UK, with the total number of social sector homes started by the end of June 2017 increasing to 6,234, 32% more than the year to end 2016.”
