Over 3,000 new homes are to be developed across Aberdeen as part of a 5-year plan to meet affordable housing needs, following an agreement by councillors.

Aberdeen City Council's City Growth and Resources Committee approved the Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP), which details how the local authority and partners such as Registered Social Landlords intend to deliver new affordable homes.

Priorities identified in the adopted Local Housing Strategy include ensuring there is an adequate supply of homes of the right size and type across all areas of the city, and more broadly, alleviating and preventing homelessness.

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The SHIP, which is updated yearly, shows there is scope to complete 3,771 affordable units over the next five years using housing grants and contributions from developers.

The document will be submitted to the Scottish Government to be signed off.

An Aberdeen City Council programme is under way to provide an additional 2,000 council homes for social rent in the years ahead, which will form part of the SHIP.

An affordable housing grant of £17m was allocated to Aberdeen City Council in 2018/19.

Additional funding of £12m – made available through the close working relationships the Housing Strategy team has developed with the Scottish Government and Registered Social Landlords – has allowed the Council to accelerate the pace of affordable housing delivery.

There were 356 affordable housing completions across the city to the year ending April 2019. Since then, 154 completions have taken place, with 562 units projected expected to be completed in 2019/2020.

(MH/JG)