A COUNCIL is set to spend around £128 million over the next 12 months as part of a move to improve council homes and build new affordable homes.
Under the City of Edinburgh Council plans, improvements will be carried out to more than 3,000 council homes, making them greener, safer, and more accessible.
The investment plan will also drive forward the council’s house building strategy, supporting the development, build and supply of more sustainable and affordable new homes to address the city’s housing pressures and tackle the cost-of-living crisis.
The council aims to be one of the first local authorities in Scotland to pilot a “whole house retrofit” approach to support the council’s net zero carbon commitment.
Kate Campbell, housing convener, said: “We’re really scaling up our efforts to improve the condition of people’s homes and driving forward our housebuilding programme, so that residents can have permanent homes that are energy efficient, safe and affordable.
“Our ambition has been to deliver 20,000 affordable new homes by 2027 and we’re well on the way to achieving that despite the pandemic and Brexit, which have been really challenging for construction.
“And now we’re having to navigate a cost-of-living crisis, so we have set a rent freeze for our tenants to support them through this. But, longer term, all the work we’re doing now to make homes much more sustainable will also help us to drive down fuel bills. The steps we’re taking to make better use of shared greenspaces is also important for tenants’ wellbeing.
“Our investment plan for the year ahead will make a big difference to our tenants, both their quality of life in their homes, and to their cost of living.”
Mandy Watt, housing vice convener, said: “There are huge pressures on housing in Edinburgh and those on low incomes continue to be the most affected by high rents and high bills. Housebuilding has a role to play in providing more affordable and energy efficient homes, and to help us meet the city’s growing demand for accommodation.
“While funding and land supply remain two key challenges, we’re doing a lot of work to maximise the number of homes we can deliver. But we’re also investing in existing homes and revolutionising housing to provide safer, warmer, and more enjoyable places to live.”
Chromacity seals new partnership to boost sales in France
Scottish laser manufacturer Chromacity has signed an agreement to boost sales of its “ultrafast” technology to industrial organisations in France.
Under the deal with Tematys, the French-based photonics expert will match the requirements of organisations in that country with the technical capabilities of Chromacity’s lasers.
Oliver Jones: Outlook darkens for economy as Sunak takes cautious approach
Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement offered up a handful of welcome announcements. But it didn’t fundamentally alter the fact that the outlook for the UK economy is darkening, with three headwinds likely to weigh on growth this year.
First, the cost-of-living squeeze caused by higher inflation is set to continue. Mr Sunak announced a few measures designed to ease the pain felt by households – most notably the 12-month cut in fuel duty of 5p per litre.
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