A PERTH and Kinross councillor has branded himself the area’s “affordable housing champion” after pleading for extra funding to tackle a spiralling homelessness crisis.

Peter Barrett is calling for the area to be supplied with a “meaningful and fair” share of financial aid granted by the Scottish Government.

Perth and Kinross has experienced a near 20% increase in the number of homeless applications in the last year.

As recently as September local authority chiefs admitted they were unlikely to meet stringent targets laid down by government ministers.

Now self-styled affordable housing champion Mr Barrett insists communities minister Stewart Maxwell must step in to help out.

With the government set to decide which authorities will benefit from the latest tranche of funding, the councillor has been pressing the case for Perth and Kinross.

“Perth and Kinross matches every criterion the government set for this latest round of funding,” Mr Barrett said.

“Despite that there was no money invested here out of the £9m the Scottish Government awarded in October.”

The government’s so-called “accelerated funding” is to be targeted to local authorities which demonstrate needs including housing shortage and homelessness pressures.

The stated aim is to direct resources to areas that experienced reductions in funding in 2008/09.

In his letter to the minister Mr Barrett says, “In Perth and Kinross there is an acute shortage of affordable housing and very significant homelessness pressures. Despite this, government funding for 2008/09 was reduced.

“Our numbers of homeless presentations are rising, bucking the national trend, and the council has reported that it is not in a position to extend priority need status to a greater proportion of applicants because of the chronic shortage of social rented housing in the area.”

Mr Barrett said that, following extensive consultation with registered social landlords, long lists of housing projects have been submitted for Perth and Kinross.

“We have the most acute need of social rented housing in Scotland,” he said.

“It is not for the want of applications for funding that nothing has been invested here so far.”