The City of Edinburgh Council has requested £665m of extra funding from the Scottish Government to deal with Edinburgh’s housing crisis.
A new report states that £665m in grant funding is needed over the next five years. That is in addition to the £228m that the government is currently expected to provide during the same period.
The funding estimates are part of the Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP), which the council submits annually to the Scottish Government.
SHIP aims to provide more affordable home options in Edinburgh, especially for low-income people. It outlines the number of potential housing approvals and completions that could be implemented over the next five years and the amount of funding needed.
The 2024-2029 SHIP estimated that 11,000 new affordable homes could be developed across the five years, depending on the amount of grant funding.
Without the suggested increase in funding, only around 2,600 affordable homes can be provided, the report found.
Councillor Lezley Marion Cameron recently stated that the council needs “serious amounts of money,” adding that “yet again next year we’re going to be the lowest funded council in Scotland.”
Cameron added there would be “a cost if we don’t, including a cost to our health service from people suffering poor physical health and wellbeing” as a result of homelessness.
The council previously declared a housing emergency in November 2023.
A first-year student told The Student: “I was stressed at first, but it seems like a fair number of flats out there for groups of students, although the ones I’ve viewed weren’t in the best condition.”
Another student said, “It feels like flats go off the market as soon as they’re listed, but private student accommodation is way too expensive, so I’m unsure where to turn.”
Illustration via Brodie Kidd
