A new era of city council homes begins

WORK has begun on the first new council houses to be built in the Capital for more than two decades. A total of 215 new homes will be built on the site of three former high rises in Gracemount under a partnership between the city council and the Scottish Government.

Local residents have been involved in the design of the new development, which will see 99 homes being built in the first phase.

Around two-thirds of the properties built in the first phase will be for rent from the council, with the remaining homes for shared equity sale or mid-market rent.

The homes are the first council houses to be built in Edinburgh since the 1980s,

Councillor Paul Edie said: "This is an exciting time for residents in Edinburgh as they can now see our new council homes taking shape.

"I'm confident these modern homes will set the standard for other councils across Scotland to follow.

"Nothing is more important to people than decent housing. It impacts on health, well-being and educational attainment."

He added: "The city faces an acute shortage of housing which is becoming a limit on our prosperity. This is something we are working closely with the Scottish Government on and their 7.5 million investment in this programme is vital to meet this goal."

The first of the homes, which will include flats and colony houses, will be available to rent from winter 2011.

Housing minister Alex Neil was on hand today for a sod-cutting ceremony at the site.

He said: "Council houses are once again establishing a firm foundation in Edinburgh.

"The city council has enthusiastically embraced these positive measures, helping to boost supply and deliver quality, affordable rented homes for people in the city."

The work is being carried out by Edinburgh-based firm Cruden Group along with Hart Builders and is part of the city's 150m 21st Century Homes programme, which is aiming to build 1,300 new homes across the Capital over the next eight years.

Betty Stevenson, convenor of the Edinburgh Tenants Federation, said: "I think this a wonderful time for the city of Edinburgh to start building houses again after a gap of more than 20 years.

"I hope this is just the start of things to come because they are much needed for our growing communities."

Thanks to the money secured from the Scottish Government, the next round of building is set to take place in Pennywell and Muirhouse.

In July First Minister Alex Salmond announced 2.88m of funding for 96 homes in North Sighthill.