Bigger council houses could be built in future to help people work from home more effectively and allow them to enjoy family time, according to a leading council official.
During a review of West Dunbartonshire Council’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) by members of the housing committee last week, Peter Barry said there were lessons to be learned from experiences during the pandemic.
The housing an employability strategic lead said, as people were forced to stay in their houses, “homes needed to be bigger”.
Mr Barry said: “During Covid, a number of really important issues came to light around people’s living experiences.
“It was pointed out how Covid played a part in inequality. There were challenges that meant people weren’t able to work effectively from home.
“Homes needed to be bigger as people were indoors more with their families. Fortunately, we can develop a design standard that meets those needs.
“Although we can’t do anything about the houses that we already have, we can indeed commit to houses of a decent size, with more space for people to work from home and access a suitable outdoor greenspace as much as possible.
“We have set the standard and it is the right standard. We want to push expectations and the experience of social housing. It has got to be a fundamental part of economic recovery.”
Members welcomed the update and the development that had been made in this area.
Questions were then raised about some of the technicalities in the report including around the term 20-minute neighbourhood.
This was described as community which people can travel within by foot, bus or public transport within just 20 minutes with all amenities available close together.
Labour councillor Gail Casey said: “It’s really good to see the progress we are making. It has been a long time coming since I became a councillor.
“It is very gratifying to see us make this kind of progress.”
Following the discussion members agreed to approve the report and submit it to the Scottish Government.
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