Council continues to invest in improvements in housing stock

This is one of many figures highlighted in a (month nine) monitoring report which has set out expenditure from the council's Housing Capital Investment programme during financial year 2023/24.

The report to Council Executive next week will confirm that investment of over £14million was made in the period leading up to 31 December 2023.

Expenditure totalling £27.649 million is forecast for the 2023/24 programme. This spend is £3.363 million less than the current budget however any budget that isn't spent in this financial year will be carried into next year and used to support the 2024/25 programme to help complete planned works.   

The investment programme comprises the creation of new build social housing and refurbishment of existing stock, which includes large scale housing projects, energy efficiency works and planned programmes.

New homes:

• Significant resources continue to be invested in the creation and acquisition of new homes (planned expenditure at month 9 of £7 million). New housing supply includes increasing the existing council housing stock through new builds, open market acquisitions and mortgage to rent properties.
• Sites at Mossend in West Calder and Wellhead Farm in Murieston both now completed and final handovers having taken place. This has resulted in 34 new homes being added to the housing stock, with 18 handovers at Mossend and 16 handovers at Wellhead Farm.
• Twenty-nine houses have been acquired through the Open Market Acquisition Scheme (OMAS) where the council buys privately owned homes to add to the housing stock for council tenants. Due to a buoyant property market, the OMAS target for 2023/24 has now been met and exceeded. This is in addition to 291 open market acquisitions that have been added to the housing stock in previous years since the scheme was introduced.

Investment is also being made in the existing housing stock to both improve the overall standard of the stock, meet energy efficiency standards and to increase the number of available houses for West Lothian residents.

Investment in council homes:  

• planned expenditure of £4.961 million on major upgrades in 2023/24. These projects largely include roof and roughcasting work undertaken, or managed, by Building Services. 
• Nearly £5.3 million is expected to be invested across planned programme work during 2023/24 including projects featuring the installation of new kitchens and bathrooms, window and door refurbishments and renewals, stair upgrades, fencing programmes and high value repairs. and consists of approximately 376 kitchens and bathrooms, external painting, rhone cleaning / upgrading and fencing to a combined total of 1,770 properties, and various common stair upgrades such as painting and new security entrance doors at 24 blocks.
• £98,000 is anticipated for environmental programmes and external upgrading in 2023/24. These works encompass a range of environmental, street improvement and drainage projects, planned in conjunction with tenants and other council services, and works are progressing well at various sites throughout West Lothian.
• Compliance works to housing stock including a number of energy efficiency projects aimed at meeting the requirements of Scotland's Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH) regulations. These works include central heating upgrades and enhanced investment in external wall insulation.
• The programme consists of 586 central heating replacements, periodic testing of 2,920 houses and the servicing and replacement of hard-wired smoke detectors in 1,400 properties.

Executive councillor for housing George Paul said: "Financial resources are tighter than ever but the council remains committed to investing in improving the quality of our existing homes and adding to the housing stock