A Highland housing project lifted one of the top awards at the annual Convention of Scottish Local Authorities Excellence Awards.

The Council's Housing and Property Service and the Highland Housing Alliance won the Service Improvement and Innovation category for their landbanking project, which identifies land for affordable housing projects throughout the Highlands.

The project went forward to the COSLA awards after winning the same category at The Highland Council’s Quality Awards last November.

Councillor Margaret Davidson, Chairman of the Highland Council's Housing and Social Work Committee, was in St Andrews for the awards.

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She said: "This is a fitting recognition of the terrific work being undertaken by the landbanking team in providing much needed affordable housing in the Highlands.

"The Landbank and the Highland Housing Alliance and local housing associations have delivered more affordable housing in the Highlands using innovative models quicker, more effectively and efficiently than traditional methods and have ensured that we maximise the delivery of affordable housing in the Highlands."

The Highland Council in partnership with the Scottish Government set up a £10m revolving Landbank Fund to deliver more affordable housing in the Highlands. The fund has secured sites for more than 1,400 new affordable homes, allowed homes to be built in remote rural areas and significantly increased affordable housing investment in the Highlands.

It enabled the Highland Housing Alliance to be set up, which crossed the divide between the public and private sector to deliver high quality innovative housing, and used surpluses from private housing to cross subsidise affordable homes and contributed over £1m for charitable causes such as homelessness projects and handyperson schemes.

(GK/BMcC)