£330m for Falkirk's five year housing plan

In 2021/22 alone, £23.4 million will be spent on improvements to around 5000 properties, members agreed at a meeting of the full council on Wednesday.

That means £8.8 million will be spent on work such as roofing, roughcasting while £3.8 million on replacement kitchens and bathrooms.

A further £8 million will be spent in the next year on replacement doors and windows - the start of a programme to upgrade every property.

In total, £7.9 million will be spent on energy efficiency works, as 1100 properties each year get new heating systems at a cost of £2 million.

There will also be heating upgrades to three high rise blocks.

Further work will also be done on replacement cladding at Glenfuir Court.

A further £1.8 million is allocated for fences, walls and paths while £1.65 million will be invested to complete the Council’s programme of upgraded smoke and heat detectors.

Also included in the five-year plan will be investment that will deliver more than 600 new-build homes for rent in locations including Hallglen, Bonnybridge, Denny, Banknock, Polmont, Bainsford, Stenhousemuir, Torwood and Langlees.

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Falkirk Council will continue its programme of ‘buy backs’ of former Council homes purchasing around 80 properties a year at a cost of £6 million.

Around £40 million of the funding for new-builds and buy backs comes from Scottish Government grants.

SNP Councillor Gordon Hughes, spokesperson for Housing said: “We have faced a really challenging year because of COVID-19 however we are aiming to deliver a really ambitious programme of work in the coming year for our 16,000 tenants.

“The rent we collect and other funding allows us to keep our properties at a high standard as well as planning new homes and allowing us to buy back properties.”He added: “This programme of work will certainly help support the economic recovery with a £330m spend over the next five years."

The meeting also agreed to a rent increase for council tenants of two per cent.

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