PKC submits council house funding bid

Apr 27 2010 by Johnathon Menzies, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

A TOTAL of 45 new council houses could be built across Perthshire if a newly-submitted application for Scottish Government funding receives the green light.

Councillors met yesterday to discuss plans for a £1.35-million bid to help fund a near-£5.7 million project that would see local authority accommodation built in Methven, Scone, Pitlochry and Alyth.

Council leader Ian Miller, who took charge of the meeting, said he anticipated construction would begin at the beginning of the next financial year if the Holyrood request was granted.

Welcoming the move, he said: “One of the great frustrations for any councillor is being approached by people who haven’t got a realistic chance of getting a council house because there’s simply not enough to go around.”

Last year the Scottish Government allocated nearly £50 million to assist 22 councils to build 2297 units across the country in two phases.

The latest pot of government cash can provide a total subsidy of up to £30,000 per house applied for.

Councillor Peter Barrett, the convener of the local authority’s housing and health committee, said the bid represented “a determination to tackle homelessness”.

Councillor George Hayton described the council’s housing stock problem as “pernicious”.

When questioned by Perth-based local authority member Alexander Stewart, a council officer revealed that the four sites were prioritised in case the Scottish Government application fails to be granted in its entirety.