A Scottish Conservative MSP has claimed Perthshire, Fife and other rural areas are being left behind in a housebuilding programme which is being developed “too slowly”.
Murdo Fraser has accused the government’s Rural Housing Fund of rolling-out at a “snail’s pace” and that minister’s were prioritising the Central Belt.
We revealed the Scottish Government had spent less than half of the £25 million fund set aside for rural housing, following questions lodged by the Scottish Conservatives.
A chronic shortage of affordable housing was repeatedly raised as a major issue during a research project we carried out with Survation in the run-up to the Scottish Parliament election earlier this year.
Last year we reported only 59 homes had been delivered in four years under the scheme, while a further nine were completed using the £5m Islands Housing Fund.
A total of 500 homes were initially anticipated under the Rural Housing Fund alone.
“Typical”
Murdo Fraser said: “This is typical of the SNP Government. They announced this Rural Housing Fund to much fanfare but have failed miserably to deliver the funding required to support housing projects in Mid Scotland and Fife
“Yet again, the SNP have let down our rural communities. SNP Ministers are too obsessed with the central belt and simply aren’t meeting the demand for housing in our rural areas.
“This funding has been released at a snail’s pace which simply isn’t good enough. As our communities in Mid Scotland and Fife recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic. It is imperative that there is good quality housing in this region in order to ensure people want to live and work here.
“SNP Ministers must guarantee that this funding will now be delivered at a far quicker pace than it has been so far, where any progress in recent years has been woefully slow.”
‘Game changers’
In response to a written question, Housing Secretary Shona Robison said: “The Scottish Government allocated £25 million to the Rural Housing Fund and £5 million to the Islands Housing Fund when they were launched in 2016-17.
“The following table provides a breakdown of funding allocated in each full year of the Rural Housing Fund and Islands Housing Fund since 2016-17 to main fund projects proceeding.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said previously: “The Rural and Islands Housing Funds have been described as ‘game changers’ for community-led housing development – taken together with our £3.4 billion Affordable Housing Supply Programme they have delivered more than 4,800 affordable homes in rural and island communities between 2016/17 and 2019/20.
“The schemes were developed in collaboration with community housing trusts, with funding allocated to fully developed projects that obtained permission to deliver housing in their communities. We are working with partner organisations to further promote the schemes to ensure as many people are able to benefit as possible.”