The West Lothian Council has approved a new Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) from 2024/25 to 2028/29 which is the strategic bidding document for investing in affordable housing for rent for West Lothian, which the council then submits to the Scottish Government for grant funding.

Over the five-year period of the SHIP, sites with a total of 2,608 potential affordable homes have been identified. This exceeds the current minimum target of 1,621 affordable homes in West Lothian and indicates sufficient potential sites to meet demand. The sites included within the SHIP will be subject to prioritisation and will be dependent on obtaining grant funding from the Scottish Government

Sites have been identified by Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and the council for 2,132 homes. Potential other sites included in the SHIP could accommodate up to 418 additional homes. These sites may be developed by RSLs or in some cases, the council. The potential sites identified by the council are in the following areas, Houston Road (Livingston), Simpson Parkway (Livingston), Almondvale Crescent (Livingston) and Mossend (West Calder).

A full breakdown of potential sites for development can be seen in the appendix of the committee report which can be accessed here.

Opportunities for 58 open market acquisitions have also been identified by both RSL’s and the council.

Executive councillor for housing services, George Paul, said: “The updated Strategic Housing Investment Plan for the next five years will see the council and our RSL partners working alongside one another to try and advance the delivery of additional affordable housing in the area.”

“The demand for housing continues to be extremely high and it is vital that a comprehensive strategy is in place to ensure that ever limited finances can be directed to the locations and projects that most require resource.”