Associations to buy unsold homes

The council will receive �2.59m to buy new homes from the private sector

Housing associations in Stirling are to receive �2.59m to buy unsold housing stock from the private sector.

The money will be used to purchase 34 houses from the developer Persimmon Homes for properties in the Cambusbarron area of the city.

The funding package forms part of a �100m scheme by the Scottish Government to boost the housing sector.

Stirling Council unveiled plans last month to build 244 new homes to meet the area's housing needs.

A meeting of the authority's housing strategy committee in November agreed that new council properties would be built on 21 "pressure" sites across the area.

Property prices in Stirling are among the highest in Scotland, with the average cost of a home currently at �194,892.

Local MSP Bruce Crawford said the �2.59m funding package would help alleviate the need for affordable homes in the area.

He said: ""Housing associations will be able to buy off the shelf stock from the private sector. It will help the hard pressed construction industry and increase much-needed affordable housing.

"This funding will kick-start site construction in Stirling, which I hope will herald a revival in the fortunes of Scotland's hard-pressed house-building industry."

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