Council plans to build new homes

The authority said the houses would be built over the next five years

Stirling Council has unveiled plans to build 244 new homes.

A meeting of the authority's housing strategy committee 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.

The building programme, due to start in Gargunnock in April 2009, will be carried out over the next five years.

In addition to the new council properties, 887 housing association homes are also planned for construction as part of the authority's strategic housing investment plan (SHIP).

'Chronic shortage'

The local authority homes are planned for areas including Bannockburn, Dunblane and Stirling city centre from 2010.

The council said detailed plans would be submitted to the Scottish Government by the end of the month showing that 126 new council homes would be constructed in urban areas with 51 in rural communities over the next five years.

Councillor Alasdair MacPherson said the project would signal a return to local authority house building in the area for the first time in 22 years.

He added: "Tackling the chronic shortage of social rented housing is a priority for this administration and I'm delighted that we can now take forward this plan to the Scottish Government to bid for the funding they have available to councils to support house building programmes."

The council said the building programme would be funded from various sources, including the council and the Scottish Government.