Council leaders in Aberdeen have thrashed out a £300million deal to alleviate the housing crisis in the region.
The local authority has named Places for People Group Ltd as a partner in their effort to deliver 2,000 new homes by 2017.
The deal was brokered during a private session of the council yesterday, and it was understood the property and regeneration development firm was chosen ahead of two other bidders.
The partnership between the city and Places for People is the first of its kind for a local authority in Scotland, and council bosses say it will ensure affordable homes are not reliant on public funding.
Speaking moments after the deal was agreed, council leader Jenny Laing reiterated that housing was one of the administration’s top priorities.
She said: “We have a very high cost of living in Aberdeen and that includes housing, which means it’s difficult for people currently living here to get on the property ladder and for us to recruit and retain key workers.
“We realised that the traditional methods of meeting housing demands were not working in Aberdeen, so we had to look at more innovative ways of stimulating that.”
The Aberdeen City Council administration, led by Ms Laing, made a commitment in their Strategic Infrastructure Plan to build 2,030 homes by 2017.
She added the new deal would deliver affordable housing on a scale “that we haven’t seen in the city before”.
The proposal is to construct an initial 1,000 affordable homes and 1,000 private homes, with the potential for a further 1,000 properties.
Places for People will build on council-owned sites, and the local authority will take a 50% share of the development profit as well as payment for the value of the land.
The first sites to be transferred as part of the deal will be Summerhill and East Woodcroft.
Last night David Cowans, chief executive of Places for People, said: “We have a proven track record in building and delivering homes, and this partnership will not only to help meet the housing requirements for people with differing needs and at different stages of their life, but to create communities that residents will be proud of.”