Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson visited Aberdeen yesterday to address the issue of housing shortages in the area.
On the day when the head of the Grampian Housing Association called for Holyrood to invest in 3,500 new affordable homes, she insisted it would be at the heart of the party’s manifesto.
Following a morning speech to the Chamber of Commerce, she visited the Stoneywood Estate in Bucksburn where Dandara is in the process of building more than 500 housing units.
Ms Davidson said that simplifying the planning system could mean more homes could be built without the need to boost capital spending.
She added: “We will help house building across Scotland by bringing in shared equities, help to buy and working with housing associations to bring in affordable housing.
“I met with Stewart Milne at the Scottish Parliament recently and he said the gap between approval of a plan and when building actually starts can be five years.
“You can see in Aberdeen how much the property market has changed in the last two years, so it’s difficult for developers to plan ahead with that gap.
“We aim for quicker planning decisions and to make the system easier to understand.
“We also want to see joined-up thinking between the utilities when homes are being built.”
Ms Davidson continued: “These are all things which can be done without adding to the cost of building homes, it does not require big capital spending.”
Grampian Housing Association chairman Gordon Edwards is convinced housing will be in voters’ thoughts at the Holyrood elections.
He said: “When Scotland goes to the polls on May 5 in the Scottish Parliament election, affordable housing needs to be on everybody’s mind.
“The north-east only delivered half the number of affordable homes it should have built over the last five years, a shortfall of 2,000, and public services and industry alike are struggling to recruit and retain key staff.”
“We are calling for the next Holyrood Government to invest in 3,500 new affordable homes for working families in the north-east additional to existing spending levels and pledge 50% or more, new builds for working households to be for social rent.”