You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Glasgow Council approves city’s £535m housing investment plan
Glasgow Council has signed off a five-year £535m investment plan to boost affordable housing in the city.
The local authority’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) revealed that the city has a target of building 6,500 homes and is focused on scaling up affordable housing provision.
Glasgow Council said its priorities include increasing the supply of larger affordable homes, building accessible housing and prioritising low and zero-carbon homes ahead of the Scottish government’s target for zero emissions heating systems in new homes from 2024.
The strategy also includes targeting acquisitions to increase affordable housing options and address issues in private sector homes and tenement blocks.
The SHIP also steers the city’s affordable housing supply programme (AHSP), which sets out specific priorities for its new developments.
READ MORE
These include 10% of all new homes in developments of more than 20 homes will be wheelchair readily adaptable, and 60 new family-sized homes with four or more bedrooms are built each year.
In a report to council, the local authority warned there were a range of challenges to the delivery of the SHIP, including Brexit, the coronavirus pandemic, inflation and the war in Ukraine, which have led to rises in labour and materials costs.
It said that social landlords had identified other challenges, including developing on difficult brownfield sites and additional costs incurred through designing new housing to the Glasgow Standard, which sets higher energy efficiency requirements.
A performance review of Glasgow’s ASHP revealed there were 795 new homes started on construction sites and 879 new homes were completed during the year.
This was despite “extremely challenging circumstances” for the programme, including significant construction price inflation, labour shortages and a lack of supply for some construction materials across the UK.
It said the average works cost per m2 had risen by 23% in one year, from £1,529 per m2 in 2020-21 compared with £1,881 in 2021-22.
Kenny McLean, city convenor for neighbourhoods, housing and public realm at Glasgow Council, said: “The Strategic Housing Investment Plan for Glasgow is key to how meet housing needs in the city over the next five years. The plan will help us deliver thousands of new homes while addressing a range of economic, environmental and social issues.”
The SHIP was developed through consultation with the council’s housing partners, including housing associations, private developers, the voluntary sector, Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership and other organisations.
