Scotland

Falkirk Council invests in new Social Housing

Falkirk Council has started on the construction of 80 new homes in Falkirk and Maddiston which will be available for social rent.

The announcement came at a meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee January with work started in December last year on the Falkirk site and in January at Maddiston, with an expected completion date of April 2014.

The housing in Falkirk is being built on the former St Mungo’s High School and will provide 40 homes, comprising of 36 two and three bedroom flats and four larger three/four bedroom terraced houses with a total value of £3.91 million. JB Bennet are the main contractor on this section of the development.

The Maddiston project will provide 40 homes of 32 two and three bedroom flats in addition to eight larger three/four bedroom terraced houses at a total value of £4.04 million.

In addition to the £8million being spent on the two sites, proposals were also announced to invest £2million in the council’s current housing stock.

Councillor Craig Martin, Convener of Policy and Resources said: “There is a lack of affordable social housing for rent across Falkirk however, with these and other similar building programmes, we are providing new properties that will be eagerly sought after.”

These works come as Falkirk Council announced in its February Housing Budget to create a total investment of £115m over the next three years in Social Housing. This represents the highest level of investment the council has ever achieved in its properties.

Councillor Gerry Goldie, Convener of Housing and Social Care said: “Spending on improvements and repairs to our council housing stock is the second highest in Scotland while still charging the third lowest rent across the country.

“We have prioritised where we believe we will make most impact in our communities and our new build programme will provide modern and energy efficient properties for hundreds of local residents.

“We are also investing a huge sum into improving our existing housing stock to ensure it meets national standards.

“There is still a lot of work to do however by keeping rents low and investment high, we are sure that we are on track to deliver good quality housing for all of our tenants.”

About the author

Roma Publications