Dumfries and Galloway Council has approved a new Local Housing Strategy (LHS) for 2025–2030 and agreed to advance its Local Development Plan 3 (LDP3), setting out a vision for meeting local housing needs and guiding sustainable growth.

The LHS could see an investment of up to £500 million in the region.

The new Local Housing Strategy is a comprehensive five-year plan with five main goals: building more homes, helping people live independently, improving the private rented sector, achieving affordable warmth, and upgrading housing quality. To deliver on these, the council will invest £1 million per year in a Town Centre Living Fund to bring empty buildings back into use.

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The council also plans to transform brownfield sites and long-term empty houses, and a new Strategic Housing Investment Plan will expand the range of housing options in partnership with housing associations. The LHS also aims to tackle fuel poverty and climate change by improving energy efficiency in homes.

In a complementary move, the council also took a step forward on its LDP3, which will guide where new housing, businesses, and infrastructure will be located over the next decade. Elected members agreed to submit an updated LDP3 Evidence Report to the Scottish Government for review. Once finalised, LDP3 will set out land allocations and planning policies to support the council’s vision for sustainable communities, ensuring that new development is matched with appropriate infrastructure such as roads, schools, and transport links.

Councillor Katie Hagmann, Convener of Dumfries and Galloway Council, said: "By adopting our new Local Housing Strategy alongside progressing our next Local Development Plan, we're making sure our ambition for more affordable homes and well-connected towns and villages... is backed up by a clear plan of action."