Edinburgh's Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee have approved a major £207m capital investment programme aimed at expanding and modernising the city's housing stock during the current financial year.

Approved on Monday 1 June, the 2026/27 Housing Revenue Account (HRA) capital programme forms a core component of the wider Housing Revenue Account Budget Strategy 2026/27 to 2035/36.

The strategy allocates more than £111m specifically for housebuilding in 2026/27, which will contribute to the delivery of approximately 4,275 new affordable homes over the next five years. The funding marks the first year of a five-year, £1.3 billion strategic intervention designed to provide settled accommodation and directly address the housing emergency.

Key housebuilding and regeneration projects specified under the newly approved programme include:

• The design phase for replacement housing at Oxcars Court and Inchmickery Court.

-- Advertisement --

• New-build developments at Murrayburn, Greendykes, Burdiehouse, and Powderhall.

• Comprehensive neighbourhood redevelopment works at Granton Waterfront.

To further increase the volume of available settled accommodation, the local authority has allocated £18.3m to purchase homes from private developers, while an additional £2.5m is earmarked to refurbish empty properties to a lettable standard.

The capital programme also targets existing assets, with nearly £70m allocated to upgrade high-rise blocks across the city. This capital will fund major retrofits, fire safety installations, and window replacements. A further £45m has been directed toward the Low-Rise estate to fund kitchen, bathroom, and window upgrades, alongside essential structural repairs and energy efficiency works delivered through Mixed Tenure improvement schemes.

An additional report, titled 'Housing Delivery Strategy – Update', has been submitted to the committee to provide further technical details on the delivery of the housebuilding programme.

Councillor Tim Pogson, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said: "In 2023 we became the first city in Scotland to declare a Housing Emergency and we're still committed to tackling this head-on. The Housing Revenue Account investment programme demonstrates our dedication through a range of ambitious projects to boost our housing stock and improve the standards of our existing estate.

"Like cities and towns across the country we're facing huge challenges in terms of housing shortages, the cost of living and a rising population. By investing wisely I'm confident that we can and will lessen the impact of these issues and make sure everyone has a safe place to live."