Glasgow announces five-year Strategic Housing Investment Program

The Strategic Housing Investment Program (SHIP), which will now be submitted to the Scottish Government, involves the council working with Registered Social Landlords to deliver up to 7,200 additional affordable homes, the majority of which will be new-build properties for social rent. Priorities in the plan include increasing the supply of larger family homes, wheelchair-friendly homes and meeting the needs of older households.

Plans also include supporting RSLs in the purchase of 550 properties that could be used to provide housing for homeless households.

The grant required to deliver the plan is estimated at around £1.139 billion.

In addition, the council has identified 37 sites across the city that have the potential to deliver a further 4,320 new homes. Additional development opportunities include the potential for the council to work with RSLs to repurpose a number of vacant town center properties for housing, which could deliver more than 800 new homes.

While local authorities are required to update a five-year SHIP annually and submit it to the government, this is the first time this has happened in Glasgow since then. Declaring a housing emergency in November 2023. The plans also take into account house building costs, which have risen by more than half since 2018, as well as a reduction in funding allocations to support councils and RSLs to build affordable housing.

Councilor Ruairi Kelly, convener of Glasgow City Council’s housing, development and land use meeting, said: “The Housing Emergency is one of the biggest pressures facing our city and building more affordable homes is an absolute priority now and for the years to come.

“SHIP reflects the reality of the perfect storm of rising costs, increasing demands, budget pressures and changing demographics. But he is also realistic about what can be achieved in Glasgow and the difference thousands of new homes will make to our citizens.

“We have strong partnerships with social landlords and across the sector to meet all our housing needs, including innovative approaches from purchasing existing properties to repurposing empty office space. “We are committed to working with our colleagues in Government to unlock investment, deliver on our potential and meet the needs of our city.”

As part of the SHIP process, the council also engaged with the construction industry, as well as housing associations and social landlords, to gather views on key issues and challenges, as well as approaches to investing and delivering more affordable housing. Ongoing consultations with key partners on our response to housing and homelessness pressures have also informed the programme.

Around 80 per cent of affordable homes built during this period are expected to be for social rent.

SHIP includes a requirement that 10% of all new homes in affordable housing projects be wheelchair accessible and that 40 new large family homes (four or more bedrooms for families of six or more people) be built each year.

Councilor Kelly added: “We know that inflationary pressures, caused by many reasons beyond our control, have increased the cost of house building by over 50% in recent years. And meeting our targets will be a challenge. But our needs are very real, as are the targets we have set and the investments required to achieve them.”

“This is an investment not only in housing, but also in reducing homelessness and the number of families in temporary shelter. “This is about tackling child poverty, building new communities, meeting our sustainability targets, demographic changes and stimulating Scotland’s economy.”