The bulk of the £159 million HRA capital budget for 2023/24 was allocated to new builds, with the rest allocated to enhancing the existing stock of more than 22,000 properties.

This includes:

• £18m replacing windows and upgrading flat roofs;
• £15m modernising kitchens and bathrooms;
• Approximately £15m on energy efficiency measures like installing solid wall insultation and new heating systems; and
• £1m on disabled adaptions, part of our support for the Local Outcome Improvement Plan.
• The council also agreed to spend £7m on safety and security such as rewiring, lift replacements, and installing new door systems, having almost completed a roll out of integrated fire and smoke alarms across all properties.

A further £2m is to be used to expand the district heating networks, giving more tenants access to low-cost heat and power.

The housing revenue budget for 2023/24 is £102m. Rent is to rise by 4% increase to help cover the increasing cost of repairing, maintaining and managing properties.

Councillor Miranda Radley, convener of the Communities, Housing and Public Protection Committee, said: “We believe that tenants would wish to see us provide homes that are economical to run and environmentally friendly, and offer the same advantages as new-builds.

“Through our engagement with tenants, including community walkabouts, we have sensed the strong desire for quality, affordable homes and inclusive neighbourhoods – and in turn where our priorities should lie as a corporate landlord.”

The council is currently completing the refurbishment of approximately 500 “voids” using a Scottish Government grant to provide homes for people displaced by the Ukraine war.

In education, the capital spend over the next five years includes:

• £91.5m for a new secondary school for Hazlehead and Countesswells;
• £13.2m to extend Bucksburn Academy;
• £27.5m for first of two new primaries in the Bucksburn/Newhills area;
• £27.5m for the first of two new primaries in Grandhome.

The budget also includes a funding commitment of £19.4m for the Hydrogen Hub, a joint venture with bp to produce renewable energy. And this year the council introduced its first annual carbon budget to help measure the success of environmental policies.