Edinburgh council is to force housebuilders to make up to 25% of residential development schemes available for “social” housing.
Edinburgh council leader Donald Anderson said the new policy would be introduced within the next few months. “We have agreed the policy in principle and are working through the detail.”
The move is fiercely opposed by Homes For Scotland, formerly the Scottish House Builders Association, which has threatened to boycott residential developments in the Scottish capital if the rule is enforced.
The trade body, which represents 80% of house builders in Scotland, claimed the council’s policy would make developments unviable for private sector firms. Homes For Scotland has said it would mount a legal challenge if the policy was written into Edinburgh’s local or structure plans.
“If the council tries to enforce this policy there is going to be a stand-off because developments will not be viable,” said David Gill, chairman of Homes For Scotland and a managing director at Cala Homes.
A stand-off would make worse what Gill called the “crisis” in the supply of family homes in Edinburgh, where developers say a chronic shortage of supply due to tight land release policies is causing families to leave the city.
Council spokesman John Schofield said that depending on the location of new developments and the existing provision levels in those areas of social housing, the council’s insist that a maximum of 25% of homes built be “affordable”.
That could mean houses being made available through housing associations at cheaper prices, or through houses being made available for rent, or the allocation of some houses for part sale at lower prices.
Edinburgh’s housing shortage has led to hyper-inflation of home prices, and council leader Anderson admitted that selected parts of the city’s green belt may have to be freed up for housebuilding.
EGi News 06/11/01
