East Ayrshire Council's £166m housing investment programme

East Ayrshire Council's house building programme aims to support communities by providing safe, secure and affordable homes for local people.

At a recent local authority cabinet meeting, it was agreed that £34m would be spent over the next five years towards aims of delivering up to 662 new and acquired affordable homes.

As well as this, £132m will be spent aiming to improve council homes across East Ayrshire, as part of the rolling housing investment programme.

Energy efficiency will remain at the heart of improvement works being delivered up to 2030.

Council leader Douglas Reid and depute leader Jim McMahon at the opening of new homes in Auchinleck (Image: East Ayrshire Council) The council says that this investment will see 400 homes a year benefit from insulation works, external rendering and re-roofing, transforming homes and communities; £7m will be invested in new energy efficient windows and doors for 200 homes and more than £17m will provide new grade A energy efficient heating systems for 800 homes each year of the programme.

As well as this, almost £50m will be invested in the installation of new kitchens and bathrooms, and electrical upgrades, which equates to 680 homes a year, for each year of the programme.

And a further £3.5m will be invested in a planned programme of cleaning and minor repair works to high-level gutters, rooflines and rainwater goods.

Councillor Douglas Reid, leader of the council said: "Having access to a safe, secure, and affordable home is essential to the health and wellbeing of our communities and helps to create better neighbourhoods, a greater sense of community and contributes to local regeneration. 

"Our housing investment has created local jobs, improved community wellbeing and helped our children and young people to thrive – indeed we currently have around 45 apprentices employed across a range of construction trades within housing services as part of our own apprenticeship programme."

Councillor Douglas Reid, leader of the council (Image: East Ayrshire Council) Cllr Reid added: "Housing is a long-term investment and as we move forward, we will be looking closely at demographic projections for East Ayrshire to ensure that housing demand is fully assessed and that our plans are focused on investing in areas of need.

“As agreed by cabinet, we will lobby the Scottish and UK Governments for funding to address the depopulation of our rural areas and ensure that needs are met wherever possible.”