4000 new homes planned for Fife in ambitious blueprint

The latest edition of the Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) was agreed by councillors last week. It will now be sent to the Scottish Government for approval.

The programme aims to deliver up to 3,859 homes aross the Kingdom between 2021 and 2026, seeking £184.135 million from the government's Affordable Housing Supply Programme and £5.5 million from council tax proceeds from second homes in order to fund construction

Around 92% of the homes will be social housing delivered by the council, the Fife Housing Association Alliance and Fife Housing Group. The remaining 8% will be homes built for mid-market rent, delivered by housing associations.

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Three-tenths of the homes will also be tailored to specific needs such as wheelchair users and those with complex care requirements.

Councillor Judy Hamilton, who chairs Fife Housing Partnership and is also convener of Fife Council's community and housing services sub-committee, welcomed the blueprint.

She said it was "very, very ambitious - one of the most ambitious in Scotland".

Estimates produced by Fife Council show that the Kingdom requires an average of 1,146 new homes to be built every single year to meet demand for good quality housing, more than half of which needs to be considered "affordable".

The Kirkcaldy, Glenrothes and Central area is judged to be the most in need of affordable housing in Fife, followed by Dunfermline and the West.

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