Funding for tenement repairs, action on derelict sites and tackling the climate emergency are essential to the delivery of housing in Glasgow over the next 20 years.
Glasgow City Council has responded to a ‘Housing to 2040’ consultation recently launched by the Scottish Government, which asked for “bold and radical” policy ideas.
Both the government and the Council have declared a climate emergency, which has been identified as the “principle challenge” in the city’s response.
Concerns are also raised over a possible reduction in migrant workers in the construction industry as well as the impact Brexit could have on the cost of importing building materials.
A lot of Glasgow’s housing stock, including many tenement flats, was built pre-1919 and requires significant, expensive repairs.
The authority’s response said: “In some cases the cost of repair can exceed the value of the property.
However, given the climate targets that have to be met, not carrying out the repairs is not an option".
The council said a “step change” is needed to address the problem, including repairs and retrofitting to de-carbonise heat and energy supplies and improve thermal efficiency.
This will require “significant resources and finance” over a long period of time but could also “create a huge number of jobs” and stimulate the economy.
The Scottish Government has a “key role” in supporting owners, the response adds.“If significant investment is not secured in order to retrofit current stock then climate change targets will not be achieved".
New-build developments in the city, receiving public money, need to hit the ‘Glasgow Standard’ for energy performance – using the super-efficient Passivhaus method.
“In order to meet our climate change ambitions this must become the minimum standard for all developments,” the council said.
It also said de-carbonising the national grid “must be a priority”.
Glasgow’s industrial past means there are large areas of derelict land, described as “prohibitively expensive” to develop due to remediation costs.
“Many developers feel it does not make financial sense to develop on this land,” the response states.
Although money is allocated to the council from the government for derelict land, it cannot be used to support residential development.
The council says alternative funding is “essential” to support the development of “challenging” sites.
More new-build housing can relieve pressure on homelessness services, asylum seeker accommodation and help with caring for the elderly, the response adds.
Building more affordable houses “will allow people to more easily move from the private rented sector to the social sector”.
The council said private renting increased from 9.5 per cent in 2007 to 19 per cent in 2017, and there’s concerns about the costs.
“Creating a housing system where people spend less of their income on housing costs will help to alleviate poverty and allow more finance to find its way into the real economy".
The cost of delivering affordable homes could be reduced through reforming the way the construction industry operates, the council states.It said reducing waste during construction will cut costs but pilot projects will need investment to become viable alternatives.
And the authority believes the ‘Glasgow Standard’ on accessibility, where developments getting money to provide more than 20 units of affordable housing need to have at least 10 per cent of wheelchair adaptable properties, should be introduced nationally to “provide a genuine choice for disabled people”.
Other ideas put forward by the response include a ‘Common Housing Register’ for prospective housing association tenants as currently there are 67 associations in the city with separate application processes.
A review of council tax is proposed to “more accurately reflect the range of properties in Scotland and also provide an opportunity to consider how a building’s energy performance and sustainability could be assesses as a factor”.
