THE City of Edinburgh Council has announced it is to invest around £128 million in improving council homes and building new affordable homes over the next 12 months.
Under the plans, improvements will be carried out to more than 3,000 homes in a bid to make them greener, safer and more accessible.
The investment plan is also tipped by the council to drive forward its housebuilding strategy, which it said will support the development, build and supply of more sustainable and affordable new homes to address the capital’s housing pressures.
Councillor Kate Campbell, convener of the City of Edinburgh Council’s housing, homelessness and fair work committee, 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.”
