The SHIP prioritises investment in new affordable housing across Angus, ensuring that the council continues to meet the demand for good quality affordable homes. A subsidy of around £31 million from the Scottish Government’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme is said to be required.

The council said COVID-19 restrictions have severely impacted the building industry but added that its housing association and construction sector partners are determinedly continuing to deliver a full programme of new affordable housing in Angus.

250 of the new homes will be built by the council, as part of its ambitious five-year new build programme, with funding of around £37m allocated from the Housing Capital Expenditure Plan 2019/24 to achieve this. 

Angus Council’s communities convener, Cllr Mark Salmond, said: “As we start the year with further pandemic restrictions, we are now more acutely aware than ever of the need for everyone in Angus to have access to good quality, affordable housing.

“I’m delighted that our SHIP continues to make a significant positive impact on the lives of people in Angus -  it helps the economy; helps to maintain jobs; helps people to have safe and secure homes that are affordable, and it helps create places that people are proud to call home.”

Meanwhile, tenants have expressed high levels of satisfaction with Angus Council’s Housing Service.

A recent customer satisfaction survey carried out by independent consultants Research Resource by phone, reported big improvements in how customers rate Angus Council as their landlord, across all areas of the service.

More than 1000 tenants took part in the survey, a report to a meeting of the Communities Committee confirmed this week.

88% of respondents said they are very satisfied or fairly satisfied with the overall service provided by the council. 86% are very satisfied or fairly satisfied with the value for money they get for their rent.

The council’s Housing Service plays a vital role in helping to maintain the fabric and urban environment of the towns and villages across Angus. And so, it is hugely encouraging that 92% of respondents said they are very satisfied or fairly satisfied with the way Housing Service’s manage their neighbourhood.

Communities Convener, Cllr Mark Salmond said: “We thank all our tenants who took time to give us their views. We fully recognise just how important it is to hear the opinions of those people with first-hand experience of paying for and receiving our services.

“It is good to know that, with that experience, the vast majority believe that we provide good value for money. The survey clearly demonstrates that we are going in the right direction, but we must not rest on our laurels, as there are still areas where we can do better. Our team will continue working hard to deliver further improvements in the years ahead.”

Tom O’Brien of the council’s Tenant Steering Group said: “These results are good news. I’m particularly impressed by the dramatic improvement in the level of satisfaction tenants have with opportunities to participate in the landlord’s decision-making processes. This has risen from 59% last time, to 94%. I think that underlines the success of our customer engagement strategy. There are areas that still need work, and these will be addressed going forward.”