Affordable housing figures up 19 per cent

Figures show 5,846 affordable homes were completed in 2009/10, compared with 4,913 the year before.

However the number of private homes completed fell by 35 per cent, from 17,712 to 11,447. In 2007/08 21,674 private homes were built, meaning the number has declined by 47 per cent in the last two years.

Housing and communities minister Alex Neil said: ‘It is encouraging that last year there was a record number of new affordable homes built in Scotland. Indeed, not since the early eighties have we witnessed such a surge in new affordable homes across the country.

‘Unfortunately, the level of private new build completions has continued to fall sharply in comparison with previous years.’

Last week the Scottish Government launched a policy paper on housing, including plans to find ways to finance more house building.

The figures drew a mixed reaction from the housing sector.

Andrew Field, acting chief executive of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, said: ‘The figures for 2009/10 prove that housing associations and co-operatives can deliver the quality new-build homes that Scotland needs.’ But he questioned whether the momentum could be continued in the face of spending cuts.

Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, added: ‘The figures are a good thing for the near 200,000 people on waiting lists in Scotland. The challenge is how we replicate this year on year as Scotland faces big questions over how it provides housing amid the current financial climate and with spending cuts in the pipeline.’

Jonathan Fair, chief executive of home building body Homes for Scotland, said the figures are ‘further proof, if it was needed, of the extent of the housing crisis Scotland currently faces’.

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