Housing Minister
Margaret Burgess announced that over 170 new affordable homes will be delivered
across Scotland as part of the National Housing Trust initiative
(NHT).
Mrs Burgess will
make the announcement during a visit to a planned residential and commercial
development in Rosyth, where 62 new NHT homes are being built.
The Hilton
development - which will create a new community in the town - will consist of
hundreds of new homes, as well as a neighbourhood retail centre, hotel,
offices, care home, nursery and restaurant.
In addition to the
62 new homes that will be delivered as part of this development, the new round
of NHT deals will also see 79 new homes built in Aberdeen, and 32 in the
Highlands.
Mrs Burgess said:
“I am delighted to announce the latest round of deals under the National
Housing Trust initiative, which will deliver over 170 brand new and affordable
homes to rent in Rosyth, Aberdeen, Inverness and Ardersier.
“Developments such as the new Hilton community in
Rosyth not only provide a boost for our construction sector and wider economy,
but also offer people and families the chance to rent or buy a new home at
affordable rates.
“I have met
NHT tenants all over Scotland and have heard how delighted they were to be
offered new, high quality homes which met their needs, and how quickly they
settled in.
“NHT
continues to go from strength to strength, and yesterdays announcement brings
the total number of homes to be delivered through the initiative in communities
across the country to over 1,700 – all for very little taxpayers’
money.
“Despite
Westminster’s cuts to our capital budget the Scottish Government is doing
everything possible to stimulate growth, maximise our investment in housing and
deliver on our target of 30,000 new, affordable homes over the lifetime of this
Parliament.”
Christa Reekie,
commercial director at Scottish Futures Trust, which works with local
authorities to deliver NHT homes, said: “Based on the outstanding success
of the NHT initiative a further phase was launched to help meet
demand.
“I am
delighted that so far three contracts have been signed to build over 170
additional new homes across three council areas, providing local people with
high quality housing at affordable rent levels.
“Importantly, the initiative also continues to
help to safeguard jobs in the construction industry.”
Councillor Judy
Hamilton, Fife Council’s Executive Spokesperson for Housing &
Building Services, said: "I welcome the announcement of this partnership
deal that will allow us to offer 62 new homes for rent in a development to be
built at Admiralty Road in Rosyth.
“They will
be a mix of one, two and three bed flats along with two, three and four bed
terraces. It will be complete by Summer 2015.
"We have a
target to deliver 2,700 new homes by 2017 and this is just one of Fife
Council's approaches in a much wider programme of building affordable
housing for the area."
Keith Punler,
Director of Kapital Residential Ltd, said: "We are delighted to be
partnering with Fife Council, the Scottish Futures Trust and the Scottish
Government in this NHT initiative at Rosyth.
“Hilton
Garden City is all about delivering local homes for local families and the
innovative way in which NHT works has made this a deliverable proposition in an
otherwise difficult market.”
Aberdeen City
Council Housing and Environment Convener Councillor Neil Cooney said:
“The
National Housing Trust is a fantastic initiative which Aberdeen City Council
was eager to be involved in from the start.
“The
provision of affordable housing is a key component of the Council's
Strategic Infrastructure Plan, which aims to achieve a step change in the
supply of housing by 2017. The National Housing Trust has played a significant
role in this.”
Councillor Dave
Fallows, Chair of the Resources Committee at The Highland Council,
said:
“The
Highland Council is delighted to provide the necessary finance to deliver
another 32 NHT homes in the Highlands.
“The NHT
programme is proving hugely successful in meeting housing demand in areas where
there is a shortage of affordable housing.”
Notes To
Editors
The original NHT
model allows developers and councils to jointly fund the purchase of new homes,
with local authority loans to the initiative being underwritten by the Scottish
Government.
Under the original
NHT model, homes are available for rent at below market rates for five to 10
years before being sold, with tenants given priority to buy at the end of the
rental period.
Over 1700 NHT
homes are being delivered in communities across Scotland, with even more in the
pipeline.
The table below
outlines the homes to be developed through this latest round of
procurement:
Local authority
|
Developer
|
Site(s)
|
Units offered
|
Aberdeen
City Council
|
The
Stewart Milne Group
|
a)
Froghall Road
b)
Countesswells
c) East
Huxterstone
d)
Cornhill
|
a)
19
b)
30
c)
20
d)
10
|
Fife
Council
|
Kapital
Residential Ltd
|
Hilton,
Admiralty Road, Rosyth
|
62
|
The
Highland Council
|
Highland
Housing Alliance
|
a)
Balvonie
b)
Ardesier
c)
Academy Street
|
a)
6
b)
9
c)
17
|
More information
about the NHT initiative is available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/nht.