Almost all council improvement programmes were stalled in the first lockdown last spring and only essential repairs were carried out.

Council officers gave a report on revised spending programmes to a meeting of the Services for the Community Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel (PDSP).

Councillor Andrew McGuire said: “I wonder if someone could comment on the impact covid has had on any repairs that we had hoped to undertake this year and how we hope to address that in future years?”

Graeme Struthers, depute chief executive responsible for housing, said the covid outbreak has had an impact on a number of aspects of the capital spending programme. He added: “It’s something we’ll monitor as we hopefully move later into 2021. More planned refurbishment, such as the central heating replacement, which is a significant investment, has had the biggest impact.”

Councillor McGuire commented: ”Would it be fair to say that the money is sitting there and, as we progress out of covid we would hope that we have the capacity and resources to be able to catch up with the works that we have not been able to do in the past year because of covid?”

Mr Struthers said that when it was appropriate for tenants and for staff, the council would be looking to get people back into buildings to complete refurbishment programmes. He said that the council will be looking to prioritise that.

A report to the PDSP said: “Expenditure totalling £23.270 million is forecast for the 2020/21 programme. The month nine projected expenditure represents a net slippage/saving position of £5.971m against the budgeted resources for 2020/21, mainly due to the ongoing effects and restrictions in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the final outturn position for the year will be reported to Council Executive in June 2021. 

“Any slippage or acceleration on projects in the 2020/21 programme will be rolled forward into the revised two-year programme.”

The council is also set to begin the demolition of the decaying homes on Livingston’s Deans South estate, The West Lothian Courier reports. 

West Lothian Council’s Services for the Community PDSP heard that missives will be completed this month and housing developers Springfield are keen to make a start. This means the demolition process could start next month.

Conservative councillor Alison Adamson asked the PDSP: “Are there any time scales with regards to discussion for the demolition of the existing houses which are in quite a dangerous state and causing concern in Deans South?”

Graeme Struthers told the meeting: “Springfield are keen to undertake demolition as quickly as possible.”

Contracts for the new council-owned properties, 29 of which will be built at Deans South, have now also been signed.

The homes which are part of the council’s 1000 House programme will be built by CCG Construction which has been awarded the contract for Deans South and also at Eagle Brae in Livingston where another 29 homes have been planned.

Marjory Mackie, housing strategy and development manager, told the meeting that the council were awaiting final discussion on the firm’s construction programme and she would report to the committee when she had that information.