Delivering new affordable homes, improving the energy efficiency of our housing and reducing fuel poverty, and helping create sustainable and attractive communities are key drivers of our new Local Housing Strategy.
The two-year plan, which was developed following feedback and views from tenants, sets out our vision for housing and housing related services. Our priorities include:
Delivering more homes in the heart of great communities - We’re doing this by unlocking sites to deliver new homes; delivering 6,000 additional council homes by 2035; continuing to expand our buy back scheme, increasing the supply of affordable homes and providing digital connectivity to council tenants to improve wider economic, social and health benefits for people and communities.
Providing sustainable and high-quality homes - We’re improving the condition of homes across all tenures including facilitating a private landlord forum to share information and best practice to improve standards in the private sector; helping homes out of fuel poverty by using smart technology; continuing to work with partners to ensure advice, information and support is available for those households in or at risk from fuel poverty and supporting clean heating systems.
Preventing and eradicating homelessness - Carrying out actions set out in the Homelessness Action Plan; embedding trauma informed practice and systems across all areas of housing and working with partners to increase efforts to tackle domestic abuse.
Supporting independence and wellbeing - Delivering a minimum of 10% of all council new build homes to wheelchair liveable standard and working with health and social care to source housing solutions to help young people transitioning from care and people with complex needs requiring accommodation through the Coming Home Programme to live in their home communities.
Some of the actions delivered this year as part of the LHS 2021-2026, include providing more affordable homes by revising our new homes target of 5,000 to 6,000; £20m generated for tenants by housing staff; digital connectivity masterplan approved with new smart technology pilot planned; investment of more than £59m to improve the quality of our homes including roofs, heating, kitchens and bathrooms and over 6,000 energy efficiency measures installed in our homes including solar panels, new energy efficiency heating and triple glazed windows.
Housing Convener, Councillor Michael McPake, said: “Our LHS has delivered significant milestones across our housing service. From building more homes and rolling out exciting digital connectivity plans to installing more energy efficiency measures and supporting people out of fuel poverty, we’re changing the lives of people in our communities and the communities themselves.
“We’ll continue to build on our progress to realise our vision to make North Lanarkshire the place to live through the provision of high-quality housing and support in sustainable communities, that enables people to thrive and prosper.”