The council’s plans to deliver new affordable housing across North Lanarkshire received a boost on Friday, as the innovative pilot to begin the pilot programme was agreed.

This ‘development pathfinder’ approach will support the council’s plans to deliver 5,000 affordable homes by 2035 and will help accelerate housing development while benefiting the local economy.

The pilot will initially focus on potential developments in Airdrie, Coatbridge, Bellshill and Motherwell, where it will engage with housing developers at an early stage to potentially purchase new homes.

Robert Steenson, executive director of enterprise and communities, said: “We’ve already purchased homes from private developers on sites in Ravenscraig, Muirhead, Chryston and Gartcosh and found this to be a cost-effective way of delivering new affordable homes. All homes would continue to be built to the standards set by North Lanarkshire Council for its new build homes including meeting required accessibility and sustainability standards. This approach is in addition to our traditional design and build method and supplements our future plans for new build homes making North Lanarkshire the place to live.”

He added: “Our programme is gathering pace all the time and we now have an agreement to commence procurement to potentially deliver new homes on the site of the former Columba High School in Coatbridge and for a major development of up to 150 new home at Holehills in Airdrie which is another major step forward in our plans.”

The Holehills site, at Dykehead Road in Airdrie is the first multi-story demolition and is scheduled to take place in early 2020.

The Committee has also approved additional affordable housing projects identified for inclusion in the council’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) which is now being submitted to the Scottish Government.

The five-year SHIP aims to deliver 2,423 new affordable homes within the next five years, with an aim to regenerate and invest in local communities and town centres, to bring benefits to the local economy.

These projects will help meet local housing need across North Lanarkshire and will be delivered by the council and housing associations and supported by potential funding from the Scottish Government.