The Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) for 2024/25 – 2028/29 sets out the investment priorities of the council and its local Housing Association partners for affordable housing over the coming years.

The SHIP sits alongside the Local Housing Strategy (LHS) as one of the main delivery plans for additional local housing. It has been developed through engagement with Registered Social Landlords, the Health and Social Care Partnership, tenants, housing developers and the Council’s Housing, Planning and Economic Development teams.

Since 2016/17 the council and its partners have delivered 1,919 affordable homes in Perth and Kinross, averaging 274 affordable homes per year against the council’s LHS target of 210. This was an increase from the previous LHS target of 150.

During 2022/23 the council and its partners delivered 167 new build affordable homes and 36 buy-backs of ex-council homes. In total, 203 new homes were completed which was a significant achievement for the council and its partners, particularly given local and global factors affecting build costs and construction capacity.

A report on the updated SHIP to be considered by the Housing and Social Wellbeing Committee on Wednesday 29th November estimates that the council and its local housing partners could deliver an additional 1,688 new affordable homes over the period 2024/25 - 28/29, using Scottish Government subsidies of around £84m as well as local investment.

This housing will be provided through new builds, replacing older homes, bringing empty homes back into use as housing, buying back ex-Council homes and re-modelling existing buildings for new housing.

The homes will:

• All be built to the highest standards, with energy efficiency measures included to help meet local and national climate change targets.
• Include housing for people with particular needs, helping them to live independently and happily in the community.
• Be built in areas of high demand, including rural areas, giving people access to housing of a type and in an area suitable for their current and future needs.

Housing and social wellbeing convener, Councillor Tom McEwan, said: “High quality affordable homes significantly enhance the overall quality of life for the people who live in them. This in-turn has a positive effect on social issues such as health, employment opportunities and poverty, and that is why delivering more affordable housing is a priority for this Council.

“With demand for housing in Perth and Kinross continuing to rise, and the housing needs of our communities becoming more complex, our commitment to provide a wide range of affordable housing options remains a key strategic aim.

“We have made great progress over the last five-years in Perth and Kinross, consistently delivering more new affordable homes than our target. Here in Perth and Kinross we have a very good working partnership with our partner housing providers, and this has been one of the key factors in the success we have seen.

“I am pleased that the updated SHIP for the next five years continues to be very ambitious. This plan will help us achieve the outcomes set out in our Local Housing Strategy and support the Scottish Government’s ‘Housing to 2040’ agenda which states that everyone should have a safe, energy-efficient home that is affordable and meets their needs, in the place where they want to be.”

Members of the committee will be asked to approve the updated SHIP and its submission to the Scottish Government.