Work begins on next phase of Council’s ground-breaking housing programme

01 September 2016

The ground was broken on a £13.5 million council housing development at Manor Walk.

The former playing fields in Aberdeen’s Middlefield area will be home to 80 new Council properties and will feature a mixture of flats and houses.

The development marks another key milestone in the delivery of a major new housing programme and will offer next-generation, affordable council housing to residents.

Work is also underway on the nearby Smithfield site which will see the first of 99 council homes delivered in 2017.

Both developments feed into wider ambitious plans to build thousands of new properties with mid-market rent and low-cost ownership opportunities in the next five years through a public-private partnership – the first of its kind in Scotland.

An Aberdeen City Council Spokeswoman said: “The Manor Walk development represents significant investment committed by Aberdeen City Council to build new, state-of-the-art council homes in the city.

“Alongside the Smithfield development the project will advance the council’s housing portfolio and offer contemporary homes, which are of a high quality, sustainable and energy efficient design, for residents who are struggling to meet private rents.

“This issue is of particular concern for the younger generation who are faced with a choice between enormous debt spanning the rest of their lives or crippling monthly rent payments to put a roof over their heads.

“Our evolutionary housing programme in association with housing association Places for People and delivered by Shaping Aberdeen Housing LLP will make more new homes available at mid-market rent than any other local authority in Scotland in the next five years and also allow families to gain access to the property ladder.

“In addition, we also recognise the need to build communities, not just bricks and mortar.

“Both of these developments sit within the local authorities’ £35million Shaping Middlefield plan - an investment programme set to completely transform and regenerate the area for existing communities by creating new facilities as well as improving the infrastructure and creating open spaces.

“Projects include the £2.6million refurbishment and extension Lord Provost Henry E Rae Community Centre, a new purpose-built games area, landscaped green spaces and a new play park – while is similar plan is being developed for the Tillydrone area.”

The properties at Manor Walk, which will be built by Bancon Construction, are bright, spacious and cater for families of all sizes and needs.

They will also be joined up to Aberdeen City Council’s Combined Heat and Power Scheme which recycles energy from waste, providing low cost energy options for tenants and takes almost 50% off their fuel bills

Aberdeen’s CHP scheme has proven immensely successful in tackling fuel poverty in Aberdeen and reducing carbon emissions.

A part of the wider housing programme, Aberdeen City Council has also been working with private developers and social registered landlords in the city to free up land for social housing through the use of grant funding.