The Scottish Government's decision to create a £50 million infrastructure loan fund has been welcomed by trade body Homes for Scotland (HfS).

The organisation said the new fund, which will help facilitate housing construction across all sectors, is a 'significant' step towards increasing the supply of new homes.

Nicola Barclay, Chief Executive of HfS, said: "New homes are not built in isolation. They need to be connected to existing facilities such as roads, water and drainage. New residents also need to have access to local services like schools, medical facilities and public transport.

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"The challenge for home builders, however, is that they are often asked to make large financial contributions to meet these costs up-front, before they have begun to build and sell the new homes. This can present cash-flow issues and even make some developments unviable.

"We keenly await further details on today’s announcement but this national recognition of what is a massive barrier to the building of much needed new homes of all tenures is welcomed."

(LM)