At yesterday’s meeting of the City of Inverness Area Committee, councillors agreed a two year Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme that will see £8,002,023 spent on making improvements to Inverness council homes over the next two years.

On top of this funding, an additional £600,000 will be ring-fenced to provide aids and adaptations to assist tenants requiring extra support to stay living in their homes as long as possible.

The council is responsible for maintaining 4344 homes across Inverness Area.

During 2019/20, £3,903,512 will be used to carry out upgrade works, including: replacing kitchens, bathrooms, windows and doors, rewiring, heating replacements as well as structural works to the external fabric of properties. Money will also be used to carry out heating and energy efficiency work in line with the Scottish Government’s Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing.

For the period 2020/21 the investment will rise to £4,098,511.

Provost and leader of Inverness and Area, Cllr Helen Carmichael, said: “This is a very welcome major investment to the housing stock in Inverness Area. Members will decide at Ward Level how and where a share of £395,000 will be spent on local housing environmental improvements.

“This clear plan provided by Community Services shows the direction of investment in our Council homes going forward over the next two years and allows us to make the best use of the funding available to us.

“A huge thanks go to Members, staff in local maintenance teams and tenants who have helped identify the priorities for Inverness Area housing at local level.”