Renfrewshire to deliver 1000 new affordable homes by 2020

Renfrewshire Council has unveiled an ambitious new housing strategy which will see 1000 new affordable homes delivered by 2020.

The strategy also includes plans to further transform social rented housing in the area, in order to provide greater choice of housing and much needed family homes.

The council is working in partnership with housing associations to develop a range of new, affordable, energy efficient housing projects.



It has already successfully worked with partners to deliver regeneration at key sites at Gallowhill, Paisley and Johnstone, all of which will help towards its 1000 home target. Future projects are also being identified to further boost the supply of affordable homes.

The vision has been set out in Renfrewshire’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) which was recently approved by the council’s Housing and Community Safety Policy Board.

The SHIP outlines plans for the Affordable Housing Programme for the period 2015/16 to 2019/20 and includes a number of innovative projects to provide modern, high quality homes across the area.

The report highlights high priority projects to be taken forward in the next five years including Bishopton, Paisley West End and Johnstone Castle.



Renfrewshire Council leader Mark Macmillan said: “Regeneration is a key priority in Renfrewshire and with this vision we are working towards a major transformation of social rented housing.

“Good quality housing improves the quality of people’s lives, it has a positive impact on health and wellbeing, helps tackle poverty and adds to the economic prosperity of local communities.

“This is a wide-ranging, visionary plan to make sure that the people of Renfrewshire who need affordable housing have the choice and opportunity to live in good quality, energy efficient homes in attractive neighbourhoods that meet their modern-day aspirations.

“There is a huge amount of work already in progress. We have far-reaching aspirations for housing in Renfrewshire and will be working with our partners to put together a strong case for funding for other key projects in the future.”



Excellent progress has been made on regeneration in recent years, with the council building its first newly built houses in three decades at Blackhall in Paisley and housing associations building high quality modern houses in areas where obsolete council flats were demolished.

The council and its partners will continue to review existing stock and assess the need for further replacement and renewal projects in the future and also address areas where there is a shortfall of affordable housing.

Councillor Macmillan visited Shortroods in Paisley (pictured above) to see the £9.6 million final phase of Sanctuary Scotland’s £30m area regeneration.

The project’s 86 homes will complete later this year and take the number of new Sanctuary properties in Shortroods to 309. The final phase features mostly family homes, reflecting Renfrewshire’s housing needs. Of the 86 homes, 56 will be made available for social rent and 30 sold through the Scottish Government’s shared equity scheme.



Gordon Laurie, director of Sanctuary in Scotland, said: “We are proud to have played a substantial role in helping Renfrewshire Council provide much-needed affordable housing over the past decade. We will continue to work in partnership with the council and Scottish Government to help address the area’s housing needs.”

Link Housing Association is also working in partnership with the council on regeneration projects in Paisley. The association expects to complete 31 flats (mainly for mid market rent) on the Arnotts site in spring 2015 and is about to start work on 70 new homes in Thrushcraigs.

Link is also taking forward plans for the final phase of development at Cotton Street which will provide housing for older people including low cost home ownership opportunities for older people.


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