Council sets out multi-million-pound investment in housing
East Ayrshire Council has set out the strategic plans for the direction of local housing as detailed plans for £166m investment in housing met with the approval of councillors at a meeting of Cabinet earlier this week.
The Council’s house building programme has had a significant impact on communities across East Ayrshire - providing safe, secure and affordable homes for local people. In turn, this has the potential to reduce health inequalities, tackle child poverty and enable people to become actively involved in community life.
The East Ayrshire Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) aims to deliver up to 662 new and acquired affordable homes through the Council’s house building programme in partnership with Registered Social Landlords. Cabinet approved investment proposals totalling £34m over the next five years (2025-2030).
In the last year, Wallace Court in Mauchline welcomed new tenants, providing 13 assisted living flats, six of which are designed to meet the needs of wheelchair users. A further 101 affordable homes at Bridgehousehill Road in Kilmarnock were completed in July by Cunninghame Housing Association and at Kennedy Drive in Kilmarnock, 48 homes are in the final stages of construction, with an expected completion date later this month.
Councillor Douglas Reid, Leader of the Council said: “When we talk about local housing we need to look beyond the bricks and mortar. Having access to a safe, secure, and affordable home is essential to the health and wellbeing of our communities and helps to create better neighbourhoods, a greater sense of community and contributes to local regeneration.
“Our housing investment has created local jobs, improved community wellbeing and helped our children and young people to thrive – indeed we currently have around 45 apprentices employed across a range of construction trades within Housing Services as part of our own apprenticeship programme.
“The Council as whole is facing significant financial challenges significant challenges, but we are determined to deliver the best we can for our communities. Housing is a long-term investment and as we move forward, we will be looking closely at demographic projections for East Ayrshire to ensure that housing demand is fully assessed and that our plans are focused on investing in areas of need.
“As agreed by Cabinet, we will lobby the Scottish and UK Governments for funding to address the depopulation of our rural areas and ensure that needs are met wherever possible.”
Councillor Jim McMahon, Cabinet Spokesperson for Housing, Transport and Communities said: “Housing is a priority service that is facing an incredibly challenging time, bearing the consequences of the cost-of-living crisis, inflation and rising demand for affordable homes as landlords choose to sell their portfolios.
“As a Council we are committed to ensuring that everyone has access to a warm, affordable home in a community that they can feel part of and take pride in. Our housing investment programme is not just about the homes, it is about community and making positive change.”
The Council also committed over £132m to improve Council homes across East Ayrshire, as part of the five-year rolling Housing Investment Programme (HIP). Energy efficiency will remain at the heart of improvement works being delivered over the next five years.
This investment will see 400 homes a year benefitting from insulation works, external rendering and re-roofing, transforming homes and communities; £7m will be invested in new energy efficient windows and doors for 200 homes and over £17m will provide new Grade A energy efficient heating systems for 800 homes each year of the programme. Almost £50m will be invested in the installation of new kitchens and bathrooms, and electrical upgrades, which equates to 680 homes a year, for each year of the programme. And £3.5m will be invested in a planned programme of cleaning and minor repair works to high-level gutters, rooflines and rainwater goods.
Councillor McMahon said: “Our Housing Investment Programme for 2025-2030 sets out how we are prioritising our investment in our existing housing stock, and it will ensure that our homes continue to perform well and meet the needs of our tenants.
“These housing investments are also playing a key part in helping us secure a greener future by creating net zero homes for local communities. Energy reduction for our tenants is a real priority and this work will also help us meet our wider climate change ambitions.
“The success of our housing initiatives hinges on effective consultation and engagement and we rely on local voices to shape our annual housing improvement programme. To this end, we work in partnership with the East Ayrshire Federation of Tenants and Residents and regularly consult with our tenants and local community groups.”
Cabinet also agreed to consult with tenants on rent increase proposals for 2025/26. Tenants will be presented with two proposals – an increase of 7%, which is an average increase of £5.95 per week and an increase of 8%, which would be an average increase of £6.80 per week. The second proposal would allow for some additional 50 affordable new homes to be built within East Ayrshire. An extensive consultation will be undertaken with tenants prior to the festive period.
The Council’s housing plans also reflect a commitment to supporting young people transitioning from a care setting to their own tenancy, as part of The Promise.
Introduced in 2020, Scotland’s promise to care experienced children and young people is that they will grow up loved, safe, and respected. East Ayrshire has adopted a multi-agency approach called Housing First which aims to provide a safe and settled base from which young people experiencing trauma can access supports and meet health and wellbeing goals.
As part of this approach, since 2021 ten furnished tenancies have been created in East Ayrshire with a further two in development, and wraparound support for tenants is delivered by Blue Triangle Housing Association Ltd.
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