Glasgow City Council pledges 25,000 new homes by 2025

To be delivered in partnership with the public and private sectors, the announcement forms part of the council’s People Make Glasgow Home housing strategy.

This strategy will see council-owned land released for the development of affordable homes as well as self and custom-built housing, additional help for first time buyers seeking mortgages and the conversion of empty shops into housing.

Twenty sites have already been identified in areas including Castlemilk, Drumchapel and Easterhouse in the first year of the programme with the council also piloting private rented sector partnerships.

Priority will also be given to the canal corridor around north Glasgow for the delivery of new homes.

The 10-point Housing Acceleration Plan to deliver these 25,000 new homes includes:

Councillor Gordon Matheson, leader of Glasgow City Council, unveiled the strategy at a housing construction site in Laurieston.

He said: “While there have been tremendous examples of new housing developments in Glasgow in recent years, such as the Athletes’ Village and Laurieston, the city needs to accelerate housebuilding to meet changing and growing demand. The huge scope of housing activity that the council will be enabling, supporting and investing in over the next decade will truly transform Glasgow. We look forward to working with partners in both private and public sector housing to deliver 25,000 homes by 2025. While the under-supply of housing is a national concern, we are determined to ensure Glasgow is at the forefront of tackling the issue, and will consider all feasible options for doing so. The building of these homes will bring tremendous economic and social benefits for the city, with the huge number of jobs and apprenticeships required to deliver new housing on such a scale.”

Bill Robertson, chairman of Robertson Group, said: “We welcome this commitment by Glasgow City Council to a strategy which will ensure that the growing demand for housing in the city is met. Today marks an important milestone in both the city’s regeneration plans and its stakeholders, including our company. Urban Union is a company created by Robertson Group and McTaggart Construction in 2011, targeting opportunity in regeneration throughout the country. The company is growing quickly and is currently operating in Glasgow and Edinburgh on projects leading to the production of 1500 homes. The Laurieston Project has been a great success and Urban Union are delighted to be a part of it to date.”

Gary Climson, managing director of McTaggart Construction, said: “With confidence in the sector growing and an accelerating demand for affordable housing in Glasgow this announcement will provide a valuable boost to supply. We firmly believe this commitment by Glasgow City Council will further support the delivery of public sector housing in the city, driving the realisation of Glasgow’s newest city centre quarter and enabling us to continue our ambition to create quality homes and communities throughout Scotland. We look forward to progressing to the next phase of the project as part of the Urban Union consortium.”

Prior to the housing boom of the early – mid 2000s, around 1500 private houses were built in Glasgow every year. Following the financial crisis of 2008/9, house building activity has not returned to these levels, with 1179 private houses currently under construction in the city.

An annual People Make Glasgow Home report will be published to provide information on the strategy’s progress.

Industry body Homes for Scotland has applauded Glasgow City Council’s housing aspiration and called on other councils to follow its lead.

Philip Hogg, chief executive of the organisation, said: “There is a chronic undersupply of housing right across Scotland which particularly affects our young people and growing families.

“With our member companies looking forward to helping Glasgow achieve its ambitious goal of ensuring 25,000 homes by 2025, we applaud the vision that the council is demonstrating today and hope other Local Authorities follow its lead to ensure we have enough homes to meet the diverse housing needs of our growing population.”