East Lothian councillors have approved a plan to guide housing supply, investment and services in the county for the next five years.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet on 13 March 2012. The Local Housing Strategy (LHS) is the council’s main strategic document addressing how the authority and its partners will meet housing demands in East Lothian. The county has a rapidly growing population and it is expected that there will be a disproportionate rise amongst older residents.

It is anticipated that a supply of 6835 new properties – private, social and affordable – may be needed to meet this demand. This corresponds with the expected housing land supply detailed in the SESplan Strategic Development plan.

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The LHS is a key document for the council for 2012-2017. It will provide the strategic direction to tackle housing need and demand and inform future investment in housing and related services across the area. It contains five main themes:

• increasing housing supply

• improving the energy efficiency and condition of housing

• reducing and preventing homelessness; addressing the housing and support needs of particular needs groups

• reducing fuel poverty

Each theme has a series of corresponding actions to make sure that the strategy is put into practice. The LHS also links to the Single Outcome Agreement and the development planning process to make sure that community needs are properly identified and resourced.

The plan will be regularly reviewed over the five year period to make sure it is current and reflects the housing context.

Cabinet member for Housing Councillor Stuart Currie said: "The Local Housing Strategy gives more direction to officers and our partners when making decisions and allocating investment. It provides a framework that Government and communities can use to measure our progress. The key thing is that it will help us to better plan housing, development and our services to meet our residents’ needs now and in the future."

The East Lothian Local Housing Strategy 2012-2017 will now be submitted to the Scottish Government for approval.

(GK)