The council has been given the green light for the initiative aimed at boosting the delivery of affordable housing. The 'development pathfinder' approach will support its plan to deliver 5,000 affordable homes by 2035 and is intended to help accelerate housing development while benefiting the local economy.
The pilot will initially focus on potential developments in Airdrie, Coatbridge, Bellshill and Motherwell. The council will engage with housing developers at an early stage regarding the potential purchase of new homes.
"We've already purchased homes from private developers on sites in Ravenscraig, Muirhead, Chryston and Gartcosh and found this to be a cost effective way of delivering new affordable homes," said Robert Steenson, executive director of enterprise and communities. "All homes would continue to be built to the standards set by North Lanarkshire Council for its new build homes including meeting required accessibility and sustainability standards.
“This approach is in addition to our traditional design and build method and supplements our future plans for new build homes making North Lanarkshire the place to live.
"Our programme is gathering pace all the time and we now have agreement to commence procurement to potentially deliver new homes on the site of the former Columba High School in Coatbridge and for a major development of up to 150 new homes at Holehills in Airdrie which is another major step forward in our plans.”
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