A further 95 'affordable' homes are to be built during 2017/18 in Aberdeenshire.

A report presented to the council last week revealed a total of 189 new 'affordable' homes were delivered in Peterhead, Fraserburgh, Banff, Inverurie, Westhill and Ballater between April and December 2016.

As part of plans for phase 6 of the council's new build housing programme, further homes are to be built in Huntly, Peterhead, Turriff, Oldmeldrum, Fraserburgh and Portlethen.

Council officers are continuing to work closely with partners across both the public and private sectors to maximise the delivery of 'affordable' housing and optimize the Resource Planning Allocation from the Scottish Government.

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Overall, it is estimated over 600 'affordable' homes will be built between March 2017 and December 2019.

The report also included an update on plans for the Housing Infrastructure Fund as part of the Aberdeen City Region Deal. Funding is available as a loan to private developers or as a grant to local authorities or registered social landlords. Eligible works include infrastructure required to start a project such as roads, flood remediation and demolition work.

So far, five expressions of interest have been submitted from developers and social housing providers in Aberdeenshire.

Cllr Anne Allan said: "Affordable Housing remains a top priority for Aberdeenshire Council and we continue to speak to RSLs, private developers and the Scottish Government to increase the number and variety of homes across Aberdeenshire.

"We have seen the council house waiting list reduce from over 10,000 to 8,500 and want to see this reduce further. Only by working with others will we be able to deliver the housing people in Aberdeenshire need."

(LM)