The Biggest Housebuilding Revolution Since Devolution

The Biggest Housebuilding Revolution Since Devolution

Anas Sarwar today pledged to lead the “biggest housebuilding revolution in the history of devolution”, with a Scottish Labour government delivering 125,000 new homes over the next Parliament.

Speaking at Scottish Labour conference, Sarwar said Scotland’s housing emergency is “a moral imperative and an economic one”, and will set out a major package of reforms to get Scotland building again across all tenures, including social homes, homes for rent and homes to buy.

Scottish Labour will also establish a new Housing Investment Bank to provide long term support for building, introduce a £1 homes scheme to bring derelict properties back into use, and create new Housing Development Trusts with the power to deliver homes in every region.

The announcement comes as Scotland faces record levels of homelessness, with more than 10,000 children living in temporary accommodation.

Scottish Labour will:

  • Build 125,000 new homes over the next five years, across all tenures.
  • Deliver an expansion of affordable rents to cut housing waiting lists and reduce the rent burden so people can save for the future.
  • Overhaul planning laws and to unlock land and speed up approvals, and turn the SNP’s planning hub into a proper planning agency that will deliver the capacity and expertise that councils need to clear planning backlogs
  • Establish a new Housing Investment Bank, to invest in land regeneration, offsite construction and help finance expansion of mid-market rent.
  • Create Housing Development Trusts who will be responsible for delivering affordable housing targets in every region with the power to creating their own construction companies where needed.
  • Introduce a £1 homes scheme to bring empty and derelict properties back into use.
  • Prioritise construction skills within Scottish Labour’s 9,000 new apprenticeships, training the workforce needed to deliver homes at pace and scale.

Commenting, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said:

“Scotland has a housing emergency, and after nearly two decades of SNP failure, it is holding our country back.

“It means young people cannot afford a home of their own. It means rising rents. It means weaker growth. And it has led to the shame of more than 10,000 children with nowhere to call home.

“When we challenged John Swinney on this crisis, he told us to find something else to moan about. That is the voice of a government that has been in office too long, complacent, defensive and out of touch.

“So I am not going to moan about it. I am going to fix it.

“As First Minister, I will lead the biggest housebuilding revolution in the history of devolution. A Scottish Labour government will build 125,000 new homes over the next Parliament, across all tenures, social homes, homes for rent and homes to buy.

“We will change how Scotland finances and delivers housing for good, with a new Housing Investment Bank to support long term building, a £1 homes scheme to bring derelict properties back into use, and Housing Development Trusts with the power to deliver homes in every region.

“This is how we lift people out of poverty, create jobs, grow the economy, and give more families the chance to own a home.

“And let me be clear, as First Minister I will act to end the scandal of rough sleeping for once and for all. That is my ambition for Scotland, homes to live in, jobs to build them, and a country where every child has a place to call home.

“In ten weeks, Scotland faces a real choice, a third decade of SNP failure, or a Scottish Labour government that will get Scotland building again.”