At our last Social Work and Housing committee I was delighted to report that Aberdeenshire Council is set to spend more than £90m over the next three years upgrading existing homes and building new council houses.

Successful bids to the Scottish Government for funding to build new council homes together with the council’s own New Build Programme has led to over 160 new houses being built over the last three years. 

A further 219 homes are planned for the next three years in Peterhead, Inverurie, Westhill, Banff, Fraserburgh and Ballater.

Along with the New Build Programme, the housing service has undertaken a comprehensive review to confirm the planned improvement works comply with Scottish Housing Quality Standards by the end of March 2015.

This will include upgrading heating, kitchens, doors, roofing, insulation, and door entry systems as well as rewiring.

As Chair of Aberdeenshire Council’s Social Work & Housing Committee Councillor Karen Clark said: “This is a significant investment in upgrading existing homes and building new council houses across Aberdeenshire. As house prices continue to rise the council has also pledged to double the number of affordable housing over the next few years in order to help people on to the property ladder.”

Aberdeenshire Council is also in the process of converting some Sheltered Housing to Very Sheltered Housing with the help of funding from Aberdeenshire Change Fund.

Remodelling existing Sheltered Housing complexes to become Very Sheltered Housing across areas of Aberdeenshire where there is identified need is highlighted as a priority within the Local Housing Strategy 2012 – 2017 and the Joint Commissioning Strategy for Older People 2012 – 2020, “Ageing Well in Aberdeenshire”. 

 Cllr Clark added:  “As the demographics change in Aberdeenshire we have to plan for the types of housing that will be required in the future. This applies to housing provision for older people as well. Along with more adaptations to people’s homes allowing them to live as independently as possible for as long as possible, increased provision of Very Sheltered Housing will also be required.”

The report also highlights the many energy efficiency projects the council is pursuing including innovative internal insulation projects and large scale external insulation works.