WE MUST MAKE USE OF HOMES WE ALREADY HAVE, SAYS EMMA RODDICK MSP

MSP for the Highlands and Islands Emma Roddick has urged the Scottish Government to invest money into making use of the building we already have.

It comes after the Programme for Government was announced yesterday, which saw almost £600 million committed to affordable housing, including £40 million to bring existing homes into affordable use.

Speaking on this, Emma said:

“To tackle the housing emergency properly, we need to look further than just building new houses and work with what we already have.

“When I was in Raasay this summer, I heard from folk that , while the island population is around 200, it has enough homes to house around 500 people – but almost half are empty.  We know this is not only true for Raasay, but that there are buildings across the region and Scotland that could be brought back into use.

“Many depopulating areas in the region have significant numbers of people on the waiting list for housing, and a significant presence on AirBnB.

“While I welcome the news from the Programme for Government which committed £40 million to bringing buildings back into use for affordable homes, this investment needs to be used in our rural and island communities where building brand new homes is not the only, or fastest, method to tackle the housing emergency.”