Campaigning for affordable homes in Inverness

Solidarity and housing campaigners have expressed their disappointment at Highland Council’s decision last week not to build much needed new council housing – despite Councillor Margaret Davidson’s belated admission that new council housing for rent is something a majority of Highland citizens want to see. Solidarity say they have been inundated with support for the building of new quality council for rent as they have campaigned on the issue in the streets of Inverness and throughout the Highlands. 

“People keep telling us they have been on the waiting list for ages or they have adult children who are stuck at home because they can’t afford a place of their own,” said Solidarity spokesperson Steve Arnott. 

“We get a lot of single people and young couples paying out nearly half their monthly income in insecure short term private rented accommodation.  The Highlands are crying out – particularly in the current economic circumstances - for new council houses to bring stability and affordability to people’s lives.  Now that the Scottish Government have moved to ensure new build stock will stay in council hands by removing the right to buy for new tenants its time to be bold and make municipal delivery of social housing for rent a priority once more.” 

The council have said it cannot afford to build new council houses because the available government subsidy for it is only 20%, compared to a subsidy of 70% for housing associations, but Frank Ward, Solidarity housing campaigner and Secretary of the Highlands Against Stock Transfer organisation that defeated council housing sell-off plans a few years ago, says that is a complacent approach given the level of need.  

Frank Ward Housing Campaigner

“Housing associations have been on the go now for decades but cannot meet the sheer scale of need. There are many thousands of people here in the Highlands on the waiting list and thousands more who don’t even bother putting themselves on the waiting list because they know that they haven’t a hope in hell. Are we going to continue to drive our most talented young people to Glasgow, Dundee and elsewhere because the cost of housing here is so prohibitive? At a time when Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling are pouring hundreds of billions of pounds into failing private banks to prop up capitalism is it too much to ask that the treasury should write off councils’ historic housing debt and properly fund the building of meaningful numbers of new council homes?” 

Issued by Solidarity – Highlands and Islands