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A £535 million strategic housing investment plan (SHIP) for Glasgow has been approved by the city’s local authority.
The blueprint outlines how the supply of affordable housing can be increased to meet the city’s housing needs and growth ambitions for the 2023/24 – 2027/28 period.
Glasgow City Council said the SHIP is expected to see almost 6,500 new homes built in the five-year period, with it also aiming to increase the supply of larger affordable homes; more accessible options; and prioritising low and zero carbon homes with low-cost heating systems.
The plan also directs the city’s affordable housing supply programme (AHSP), which has four main areas of focus: meeting particular housing needs; tackling child poverty and mitigating the cost-of-living crisis; preventing and reducing homelessness; and meeting the housing needs of people displaced by the war in Ukraine and living in Glasgow as a result.
Specific targets within the AHSP include the aim that 10% of all new homes in developments of 20 units and above will be wheelchair readily adaptable, and 60 new family-sized homes with four or more bedrooms are built each year.
The SHIP was developed through consultation with the council’s housing partners, including housing associations, private developers, the voluntary sector, and Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership.
The local authority added that challenges to the delivery of the SHIP have been identified, including Brexit, the pandemic, inflation and the war in Ukraine, which have led to rises in labour and materials costs.
Councillor Kenny McLean, city convener for housing at Glasgow City Council, said, “The Strategic Housing Investment Plan for Glasgow is key to how meet housing needs in the city over the next five years. The Plan will help us deliver thousands of new homes while addressing a range of economic, environmental and social issues.”
