As new figures were being published yesterday showing that the Scottish Government has yet again failed to meet its election promise of delivering 6,000 socially-rented houses each year, local elected members were having their own debate in Gordon House about affordable housing.

As the Housing Minister yesterday claimed in Holyrood, the government has exceeded its target of building 30,000 affordable homes, Scottish Liberal Democrat housing spokesman Jim Hume MSP highlighted the fact by moving its own goal posts, the SNP has cost thousands of Scottish families a home.

The SNP pledged in its 2011 election manifesto that it would ‘build over 6,000 new socially-rented houses each year’, a total of 30,000 over the course of the current parliamentary session.

The figures published yesterday show they only managed to build 3,900 socially-rented homes last year and that only 3,653 new build homes were completed between April and June 2015, a 22% drop in comparison to the same period last year.

At the Garioch Area Committee in Inverurie yesterday, some SNP members were calling for more land allocation to be provided to increase the amount of affordable housing. Of course this aligns with the demands of bodies lobbying for the private housing sector. In reality, the main obstacles to adequate provision of affordable housing is lack of political will and underfunding of the per-unit subsidy to councils and registered social landlords. I was pleased to see that the officers’ response to the “game-changing” Review of the Scottish Planning System backed this up.

We need our social housing lobbying bodies like the SFHA to look beyond the government spin and keep pushing for improved levels of funding for social rented properties so that housing associations can get back to doing what they were set up to do.

Westhill and District councillor, Iris Walker has welcomed the announcement that a new company run by Aberdeenshire Council will be delivering affordable homes in Westhill.

Aberdeenshire Council’s Social Work & Housing Committee on Thursday approved proposals to implement “Create Homes Aberdeenshire” which would see mid-market rental properties being built across Aberdeenshire. The first development is anticipated to consist of 12 units for handover at the end of June, in Westhill, with a further 12 units by August 2015.

Councillor Walker said “By the end of this month, Aberdeenshire Council will have completed 30 new units at Broadshade, Westhill – the first “real” council houses in the town for many years and some tenants have already settled in. These, along with the additional mid-market properties through Create Homes Aberdeenshire will make a very welcome addition to the stock of rented accommodation in Westhill. There is a high percentage of home ownership in Westhill and house prices remain high. We want our town to be inclusive. As well as having a settled community, we have a fluid, young workforce, so renting for many is ideal. I am very keen to raise the profile of renting and to make sure that housing meets the needs and aspirations of all parts of our community”.

First-time buyers and those on the council house waiting list (Apply4Homes) are among those eligible to buy new affordable housing in Echt.

Aberdeenshire Council in partnership with Kirkwood Homes are offering 4 x two bedroom terraced houses for £110,000 and 2 x three bedroom terraced houses for £130,000 in Echt.

It is estimated the properties will be available between August – November 2015 and will be available to those who meet both the following criteria:

First time buyers or people with a significant change in their household circumstances whose gross annual income is in the region of £41,000 or less for the two bedroom properties or £48,000 or less for the three bedroom properties. 

Are either tenants of Aberdeenshire Council or a Housing Association, or waiting list applicants

Priority will be given to those applicants who have a local connection to the areas, for example those who live, work or have a family in Echt or surrounding area.

Aberdeenshire Council is able to offer these properties to successful applicants as part of the planning process, where developers are required to assist in the provision of affordable housing. 

These properties are sold at a fixed discounted price by the developer to successful applicants as nominated by Aberdeenshire Council.

For further information, or to request an application pack, please call a Development Officer on (01467) 628421, or email: lcho@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

You can also find more information on the council’s website at: http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/lcho

Aberdeenshire Council’s Private Housing team will be holding an open day to promote the Scheme of Assistance at Inverurie Library on May 28th between 10.30 and 14.30.

Scheme of Assistance provides advice and information for Private homeowners on repairing and maintaining their homes. There will be advice and handouts on various issues including burst pipes, gas safety, pests and vermin, finding a reliable contractor, damp and condensation etc.

There are a range of helpful leaflets giving advice on repair and maintenance on the council website.

While house prices in Westhill and the surrounding areas remain artificially high, young people and those on modest incomes continue to struggle to secure affordable accommodation whether to buy or to rent. It is welcome news, therefore, that Aberdeenshire Council has recently announced further low cost housing options at Berryhill:

First-time buyers and those on council house waiting lists are among those eligible to buy new affordable housing in Westhill.

Aberdeenshire Council in partnership with Stewart Milne Homes are offering 2 one bedroom properties for £100,000 and 4 two bedroom properties for £120,000 in Berryhill, Westhill.

It is estimated the properties will be complete in December 2013 and will be available to those who meet the following criteria:

? First time buyers or people with a significant change in their household circumstances who earn less than a gross annual household income of £42k
? Are either tenants of Aberdeenshire Council or a Housing Association, or waiting list applicants

Priority will be given to those applicants who have a local connection to the area, for example those who live, work or have a family in Westhill or surrounding area.

These properties are sold at a fixed discounted price by the developer to successful applicants as nominated by Aberdeenshire Council. Applications should be submitted by Friday 11th October 2013.

For further information, or to request an application pack, please call Audrey Johnson on (01467) 628429, or email: audrey.johnson@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

You can also find more information on the council’s website at: http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/housing/housingoptions/buying/affordable_housing.asp

Aberdeenshire Council is asking for feedback on extending the time period and geographical range of Pressured Area Designation that restricts council house sales and the consultation is open until August 9.

Pressured Area Designation was introduced to help to protect the supply of affordable rented housing in areas where there were high housing needs and shortages of social rented housing.

It aims to ensure that there are enough affordable rented properties in high demand areas for people who need them.

In November 2008, Aberdeenshire Council was granted Pressured Area Designation for a number of settlements for a period of five years and this comes to an end on November 5.

Consultation will take place with tenants of Aberdeenshire Council and the wider community, to provide people with the opportunity to give feedback on any draft proposals.

A questionnaire is available online at www.ibp.eu.com/pressuredareadesignation

Chair of Aberdeenshire Council’s Housing and Social Work Committee Councillor Karen Clark said: “As part of Aberdeenshire Council’s commitment to provide affordable housing to those in need, certain settlements of Aberdeenshire were identified as having a shortage of council or housing association rented housing.

“The ability to protect social housing will allow the authority more freedom and I encourage people to look at the proposals and provide their views.”

Vice chair Councillor Alisan Norrie added: “This consultation is important as we want to progress the types of housing available for over 7,400 people on the waiting list in Aberdeenshire.

“Please take the opportunity to get involved.”

New affordable housing is set to be available at Cowdray Fields, Echt later this year.

Aberdeenshire Council, in partnership with Kirkwood Homes Ltd, currently has six 3-bedroom houses available at £127,596 and first-time buyers and those on council house waiting lists are among those eligible to buy the properties

The estimated completion date of the homes is August to October 2013. They are available to those who meet the following criteria:

• First time buyers or people with a significant change in their household circumstances, who earn less than a specified gross annual household income
• Are either tenants of Aberdeenshire Council or a Housing Association, or waiting list applicants

Priority will be given to those applicants who have a local connection to the areas, for example those who live, work or have a family in Echt, or surrounding area.

Aberdeenshire Council is able to offer these properties to successful applicants as part of the planning process, where developers are required to assist in the provision of affordable housing.

These properties are sold at a fixed discounted price by the developer to successful applicants, as nominated by Aberdeenshire Council.

For further information, or to request an application pack, please contact Elise Young on (01467) 628421 or elise.young@aberdeenshire.gov.uk.  Applications should be submitted by Monday, April 15, 2013.

For more information, visit: http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/housing/housingoptions/buying/affordable_housing.asp

Liberal Democrat Councillor for Westhill & District, Iris Walker, has welcomed recent moves to improve Scotland’s private rented sector.

Cllr Walker said “The net annual shortfall of affordable housing across Aberdeenshire is estimated to be well over 500. That’s a huge amount of families living with the day-to-day stress of either being homeless or in unsuitable accommodation. With constrained public sector expenditure, greater effort has to be given to find solutions that do not rely on new-build grant funding which has been slashed by the Scottish Government. Aberdeenshire Council’s Local Housing Strategy acknowledges this challenge and recognises that private landlords will play a bigger part in meeting local housing need. One of the Council’s key actions is to improve the management standards and engagement with the private rented sector”.

Cllr Walker is also backing Shelter Scotland’s recently launched campaign aimed at making Scotland’s growing private rented sector fit for families and fairer for all.

The charity is calling for an end to the destructive cycle which sees tenants forced from pillar to post on short-term tenancy agreements often as short as six months. Graeme Brown, Director of Shelter said “Too often we hear of people being moved on, evicted or rents increased unreasonably, forcing people into the destructive and unsettling cycle of having to move house – every six months in some cases – preventing them from ever being able to put down strong roots or build a stable environment in which to live. Often, children’s education can suffer as a result of frequent moves to other schools. That’s why we are calling on the Scottish Government to reform the private rented sector and turn it into a place where the increasing numbers of people who rely on it can make a house a home and live with increased security and dignity”.

Iris Walker added “The benefits of reforming the sector would impact positively on landlords as well as tenants”.

Figures obtained by the Scottish Liberal Democrats have revealed that 60,459 households, a third of all applicants, have been on council housing waiting lists for over three years. Freedom of Information requests returned by 32 councils also highlighted the scale of council house shortages, with nearly half of all applicants waiting more than two years for council housing.

Earlier this week figures published by the Scottish Government revealed council house numbers are at a record low. In March 2012, there were 319,384 council houses in Scotland, the lowest in at least ten years.

Liberal Democrat housing spokesperson Jim Hume has criticised the SNP government for presiding over a housing crisis in Scotland.

 Mr Hume said: “The SNP government must come clean and acknowledge that they are presiding over a housing crisis in Scotland. Over 180,000 households are languishing on council waiting lists, a third of which have been on waiting lists for over three years.

 “This is a deplorable state of affairs which the SNP needs to recognise and act to change. The picture of social housing has worsened in recent years. The number of council houses is at an all-time low, housing association completions are plummeting and there has been a shocking 66% decline in housing association new build approvals in the past 2 years.

 “With an overall decline on starts and completions across the social-rented sector, what we are seeing is a damning indictment of this Government’s housing policies.

 “Families need and deserve the stability of a permanent home. Scottish Liberal Democrats want the SNP government to acknowledge its shameful record on the provision of social housing and set out a firm pathway to creating more homes for social rent.”