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21st January 2008

Affordable Housing Needs Even Higher Priority

North East MSP Alex Johnstone has expressed concern at the lack of affordable housing across Kincardine and the Mearns.

Speaking after he had heard from Government Ministers that affordable housing remains a high priority, Mr Johnstone said; "Housing and planning matters make up a substantial part of my mailbag each week, and I am concerned that too many people are being priced out of the housing market.  Kincardine and the Mearns are perhaps victims of their own success given that it is such an attractive place to live, work and raise a family, and this has impacted heavily on house prices.  I am deeply concerned that current wages for many people will go nowhere near securing the necessary mortgage without a substantial deposit."

The Stonehaven based MSP continued "The only way to rectify this is to acknowledge the problem, examine the available land and examine the various options available.  I am keen to see Aberdeenshire Council work closely with the private sector and establish partnerships that will provide the volume of housing that we so desperately need.  This should not happen in isolation though, and I believe that the current planning system may need to be radically overhauled and made more streamlined so that affordable housing stock can be 'fast tracked' through the system."

Concluding, Alex said "I believe that we must take a holistic view of affordable housing needs, and given the sharp increases in fuel costs, we should take the opportunity to minimise the carbon footprint of new properties and make them as fuel efficient as possible. Exploring the kind of new materials and building techniques that are available and utilising them will reap environmental and cash saving benefits in the long run.  Affordable housing should not mean low standard housing and a long term view needs to be taken to provide suitable properties fit for 21st century families."