Homes for Scotland calls on Holyrood to match English focus on housing infrastructure

Nicola Barclay

Nicola Barclay, chief executive of Homes for Scotland, was speaking after Chancellor Philip Hammond announced an additional £500 million for the Housing Infrastructure Fund.

Mr Hammond told MPs that the move would “unlock 650,000 homes” in England.

Ms Barclay said: “Homes cannot be built in isolation. They need to be connected to existing facilities like roads, water and drainage and the people who move into the new properties need to use local services such as schools, medical facilities and public transport.

“However, such physical infrastructure is expensive to deliver and home builders are often asked to make large financial contributions to meet these costs up-front before they have even built or sold any properties, making it extremely difficult for developments to proceed.

“The Chancellor is absolutely right when he says that building more homes in the right places is critical to unlocking productivity growth and making housing more affordable so it is great to see him address this challenge in England.”

She added: “With housing such a big priority for the Scottish Government, we will be looking for the upcoming Scottish budget to attach similar importance to infrastructure delivery, particularly in relation to the Building Scotland Fund and Housing Infrastructure Fund, both run by Scottish Government.

“This is essential if we are to create the sustainable communities required by our growing population.”