Contract awarded for new Council house building project
Perth & Kinross Council has appointed a contractor to build the area's first new council houses in 20 years.
The contract, which starts this week, will see Hadden Construction build a total of 26 houses in Methven and Letham.
Last year the Scottish Government awarded the Council £650,000 to build new local authority housing. This funding supports almost £3 million being invested by the Council to provide new Council houses for rent.
Housing and Health Convener, Councillor Peter Barrett, and Vice-Convener, Councillor Alasdair Wylie, visited the site at Methven today to see where the houses will take shape.
Councillor Barrett said, "The appointment of Hadden Construction, which follows a robust tendering process, means that work can now begin on building these much-needed new houses.
"These will be the first Council houses built locally since 1985. It's a major investment in housing by this Council which means that we can provide affordable housing for rent. I look forward to welcoming the first families into these new properties."
Vice-Convener Alasdair Wylie added: "We have a limited housing stock and an increasing demand for social housing, so the Council has been working on a range of initiatives, in addition to this new housing, to make more homes accessible to local residents.
"The new allocations policy for Council housing and the housing options scheme to encourage people to examine all the ways they can access housing, both launch towards the end of April. It is only by using all of these initiatives and working closely with other social and private landlords that we will be able to help people to access much needed housing."
Twenty houses will be built in Methven, comprising:
10 x 4 bedrooms, for families of five
9 x 4 bedrooms, for families of six
1 x 5 bedrooms, for a family of eight
Six will be built in Letham, comprising:
4 x 4 bedrooms, for families of five
1 x 5 bedrooms, for a family of six
1 x 5 bedrooms, for a family of eight
Scott Hadden, Chairman of Hadden Construction, said: "We are delighted to be involved with our own Local Authority in their first housing project after such a long period of time and look forward to working with them to deliver these much-needed homes. Over the years we have gained vast housing experience on our own Hadden Homes developments and those we have carried out for our Housing Association clients. Our aim will be to bring this knowledge to bear, along with our local, highly skilled workforce, to ensure successful delivery on this new initiative."
The houses in Methven and Letham are the first stage of new Council house building in Perth and Kinross. Next week a consultation event is being held for residents in Craigie Road/ Friarton Road to view designs and layouts for 10 new houses proposed for the site of the former Friarton Nursery School. The event is being held on Wednesday, 7 April between 3pm and 5.30pm at Moncreiffe Community Centre, Glenlyon Road. Representatives from housing services and the Council's architects' department will be on hand to answer questions.
