Thousands of new homes are due to be built in Edinburgh, it has been announced.

It is understood six Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) have agreed to match council plans to build 8,000 homes in the city, bringing a total of 16,000 homes to the city over the next decade.

The partners housing associations which made the pledge are:

• Castle Rock Edinvar.

• Dunedin Canmore.

• Hillcrest.

• Home Group.

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• The Link Group.

• Port of Leith.

The deal was signed with Council Leader Andrew Burns, Deputy Leader Sandy Howat, Chief Executive Andrew Kerr, Housing Convener Ricky Henderson and Housing Leader Cammy Day.

The council is already committed to delivering 3,000 affordable and low cost homes on 22 sites in the city, including investing over £100 million on lending to nine Limited Liability Partnerships set up through the Government's National Housing Trust (NHT) initiative.

Councillor Day said: "This joint commitment won't just deliver 16,000 homes - we expect it to generate benefits to the local and national economy of around £4bn, create over 3,000 jobs and bring in additional council tax revenue to help fund the delivery of essential services for the people of Edinburgh."

(LM)